Walking for HOPE, suicide awareness

A youngster waits for the start of the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.
Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER

Walkers head back to Dog Beach as they take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take off from Dog Beach as they take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A young walker gets a lift during the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A youngster gets a helping hand as she takes part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A Walk for HOPE volunteers gets balloons ready to hand out during Sunday's Walk for HOPE>

A Walk for HOPE participant writes a message on a stone as she takes part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A sign lining the Long Bridge during Sunday's Walk for HOPE.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A sign lining the Long Bridge during the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walk for HOPE volunteers work to cook hamburgers and hotdogs at a community barbecue following the annual event.

by CAROLINE LOBSINGER
Staff Writer | September 3, 2024 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — They had just started walking, and the Walk for HOPE sounded fun.

A friend had seen a poster about the event, Sandra Leslie said, and the pair loved the idea of taking part in a community event dedicated to supporting others and kicking off Suicide Awareness Month.

"I think it's totally awesome," Leslie said during Sunday's event. "It's a very heartfelt event. I think people have to be aware of what's going on. Even myself, who's elderly, being able to tell our grandkids and get this information (about Hold On Pain Ends) into the world."

Others said their decision to take part was as simple as the group's name: Hold on, pain ends. The message and support the walk gives are critical for those who are struggling.

Some attend as a show of faith; others attend simply to let those who might be going through a tough patch know that the community cares.

As several hundred people gathered at Dog Beach at the north end of the Long Bridge, HOPE's Jennifer Wyman welcomed the crowd, saying it means a lot to those who have lost a loved one to suicide to see such support.

"I just think that it's incredible that we still can come together as a community and celebrate kindness and support each other, and spread awareness of suicide," Wyman said. "Believe it or not, like there's so many people that have been impacted one way or another, and you're not alone."

Now in its ninth year, the Walk for HOPE attracts hundreds of area residents for a walk across the Long Bridge to raise both awareness that some are struggling and that there is always hope, no matter how bad things may seem.

Held the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the walk is put on by Hold On Pain Ends, a nonprofit formed by the Wyman family in 2015 after they lost their daughter, Madison, to suicide at the age of 14 in November 2014.

Talking about suicide, raising awareness, and having honest conversations about mental health are important. Funds raised by the walk help fund leadership programs and suicide awareness speakers. The walk — and Hold On Pain Ends — are about bringing everyone together, about the power of community, and spreading the message that each day offers a new chance for a fresh start.

"We're here for each other," Wyman told the crowd, most wearing a T-shirt in a shade of the walk's signature blue. "I just want everybody to remember that you don't know what someone may be going through, and that you may have an impact on someone's life and not even know it. So just always remember to be kind. And, please, reach out if you're struggling. There's never any shame in not feeling like you can handle something. There's always somebody there."

Wyman encouraged the crowd to talk to one another as they walked across the nearly 2-mile-long bridge. Visit, get to know someone new, and have fun. She encouraged them to take a light blue balloon and write a message on it to someone they've lost, or to take one of the flat river stones from a large bucket to write a message or the cause of heaviness in their lives. Either could be kept or let go, she said.

"Maybe it's a positive message that you want to keep in your pocket," Wyman added. "Or maybe it's something that's been weighing you down and you need to let it go; then you can just drop it over the Long Bridge into the water and release that heaviness and keep going."

Walk organizers also hoped that participants picked up a blue plastic bracelet or two, to wear or hand out.

On the outside are the words "smile" and "Hold On Pain Ends" — the words behind the group’s name. On the inside, however, is a lifeline for everyone: "Crisis? Text 741-741" — the Suicide Prevention text line.

Wyman thanked the community for supporting the walk, noting it takes everyone to put the walk on, from the walk itself to the community barbecue held immediately following.

"This truly is a community effort to bring this day to you, and I'm so grateful to all of you," she added.

Information: walkforhopesandpoint.org

Walkers head back to Dog Beach as they take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take off from Dog Beach as they take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A young walker gets a lift during the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A youngster gets a helping hand as she takes part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A Walk for HOPE volunteers gets balloons ready to hand out during Sunday's Walk for HOPE>

A Walk for HOPE participant writes a message on a stone as she takes part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A sign lining the Long Bridge during Sunday's Walk for HOPE.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

A sign lining the Long Bridge during the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walkers take part in the Walk for HOPE on Sunday.

Walk for HOPE volunteers work to cook hamburgers and hotdogs at a community barbecue following the annual event.