West Hills Walks for Life

A group representing West Hills High School will join other teams in a 5K walk benefiting two local suicide outreach and prevention programs at Balboa Park this Sunday.

As the team captain, West Hills' Principal Patrick Keeley will lead his 58 team members in the fourth annual Save A Life San Diego Community Walk. As of Friday evening, the group has raised $565, according to its team page. Their goal is $5,000.

This is the first time the school is participating in the walk. The team, which includes West Hills' staff, students and parents, is walking to educate others, but also remember those who they have lost. In the last six months, two of the school's students have taken their lives.

"As a school, it's become something that our staff and our student body and our parent community have become concerned about," Keeley said.  "We want to raise awareness to help people understand why something like this happens."

Funds raised will support the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program of San Diego County, a community-based program dedicated to saving and enriching lives, as well as Survivors of Suicide Loss, a group that supports survivors of suicide loss and educates the community about suicide.

"We started just to raise the level of awareness about depression, mental illness and suicide—that we can prevent suicide," explained Save A Life Walk Co-Chair Bonnie Bear. "People with depression can talk about it and seek help."

Suicide prevention is a cause extremely close to Bear, who is also the executive director of Survivors of Suicide Loss. Bear lost her husband to suicide eight years ago.

"Suicide is like a cancer. If you don't get help and don't get treatment, you will die. If you do get treatment, sometimes it doesn't work…the same is true of mental illness," she said. "That's become my passion—to keep other families from having to experience this tragic loss."

The organizers of the walk have a combined goal of $100,000. Last year, the event raised $88,000. As of Friday evening, this year's walk has already raised more than $60,000.

This year's walk already has more participants, too. So far, 1,200 participants—walkers and volunteers—have signed up for Sunday's walk. Last year, 800 people had signed up to walk and/or volunteer the day before the walk.

There are 70 teams walking to raise money. West Hills High School is just one of several schools participating.

"Our job as a school and a school community is to be constantly supporting each other in any way we can support each other to help each other through anything," Keeley said. 

Suicide affects all ages and crosses all cultural, economic and social boundaries. Still, Bear explained that suicide prevention is an especially important topic for youth. Suicide is the third leading cause of death nationally and locally among 15 to 24 year olds.

"What we find is most often people isolate if they're depressed; they won't talk about it," Bear said. "Especially among teens, they try to hide it. They're ashamed; they think it's a character weakness or a flaw to be depressed, so they don't talk about it and they don't get help."

The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program outreaches to San Diego County youth at local schools to enlighten educators and students. The program trained West Hills' staff members in October and will host a program for the school's students and parents in a few weeks.

Survivors of Suicide Loss, the other group organizing the walk, helps survivors, Bear explained, because they are also at risk because of the tragedy in their lives.

"Contrary to what some people think, if you're talking about suicide as a community, it doesn't increase suicide, it helps to decrease it because if people can talk about it, then they can get help," Bear said. "If they keep it as a deep, dark secret, they often then end their lives in that deep, dark secret because they think there's no one they can talk to."

In addition to the walk, there will also be remembrance activities and a resource fair.

Although online registration closes at 2 p.m. today, anyone is welcome and encouraged to participate in the walk. Interested walkers can register at the event. There is no registration fee. 

"You don't have to be a survivor or any special category," Bear said. "A lot of people just come because they want to join in the fight."

Registration begins at 6:30 a.m., followed by the opening ceremonies at 8 a.m. The walk will take place at Balboa Park at 6th and Laurel. For more information, visit savealifewalk.kintera.org