Hundreds come together each year to participate in Orlando’s annual Out of the Darkness Walk, raising funds and spreading awareness for suicide prevention through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
The event brings the community together to support AFSP’s mission of funding research, creating educational programs, advocating for public policy, and supporting survivors. Participants walk to honor loved ones lost to suicide and to show solidarity with those affected by mental health struggles. The event features live music, multiple organizations that promote awareness, and hundreds of people united by a sense of empathy and strength.
For Ruthie Boucher (‘27), a first-time volunteer, the experience was unexpectedly powerful. “It was a unifying and grounding experience,” she said. “To see how many people showed up, not only showed me how much people are affected by this issue, but also how many of them are putting an effort to make a change.” Boucher said she would be honored to volunteer again next year.
Vicki Long, one of the founders of the Orlando chapter of AFSP, and administrative assistant of the Rollins College Department of Psychology, helped establish the first walk in 2007 and has been organizing them ever since. “At that time, the AFSP was just starting to do these walks,” Long said, “we were some of the first ones in the States to do a walk.”
Long’s commitment to the cause is deeply personal, rooted in her loss of loved ones to suicide during the 1960s, a time when such experiences were rarely recognized or openly discussed. “You never even heard about suicide, you didn’t talk about it back then,” Long said, “and even in 2007, when we started, people were not so open to talk about these things.”
The AFSP, founded in 1987, operates with local chapters across the United States to raise awareness and improve mental health resources. The organization works toward reducing the national suicide rate and providing support to those impacted by suicide. The following events of the Central Florida chapter include an education program via Zoom called “Talk Saves Lives” on Feb. 26 and the 2026 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend from Feb. 27 to March 1.
For more information about the AFSP, visit https://afsp.org.
Rollins College students have access to free, confidential mental health services through the Wellness Center (407-628-6340), including on-campus counseling and 24/7 crisis support via the Rollins Mental Health Helpline (407-646-1516).
Quick Key Resources:
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call 988 — available 24/7/365
- TogetherAll — online chatroom for students to share their experiences. Sign up for free using your rollins.edu email.
- Students can also find mental health resources in their area on Thriving Campus: Rollins.
For more information about Rollins College resources, visit https://www.rollins.edu/parents-families/wellness-center/.
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