MountainView Church’s annual Walk of Hope for Suicide Prevention has a special guest speaker this year in Lacey Sturm, the former lead singer of the rock group Flyleaf.
“It’s an event we do every year and with Lacey Sturm, it’s really a big deal,” MountainView Church Pastor Anthony Torres said.
MountainView Church’s Walk of Hope begins at 4pm on October 1st at the Tays Center on Scenic Drive and the walk goes to Washington Park at the corner of East First Street and Washington Avenue.
“We are walking for those who have lost their lives by suicide,” Torres said. “We also walk for hope.”
The walk is expected to last about 40 minutes, Torres said.
The Washington Park event includes worship, bounce houses, free food like hot dogs and hamburgers, suicide prevention resources and special guest Sturm talking about her recovery.
Sturm’s autobiography, “The Reason: How I discovered a Life Worth Living” in 2014.
“After a shouting match with his grandmother, he ended up in the back of a shrine, hating everyone in the room.” says the synopsis of his book. “But what happened in that room is the reason she’s alive today.”
Sturm found God that day and is a wife and mother of three.
Flyleaf formed in Belton, Texas in 2002 with Sturm leaving the band in 2012. The band continued with a new lead singer who left the band in 2016 and the band has been on hiatus ever since.
The band’s debut single, “I’m So Sick” was released in 2006 and reached number 12 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 2005-2006.
Suicidal ideation among adults in New Mexico has remained at about 6 percent from 2011 to 2020, according to the New Mexico Health Indicator Data and Statistics, or IBIS.
From February 2022:Alamogordo Public Schools Suspends High School Youth Risk and Resilience Survey
The majority of New Mexico adults experiencing suicidal ideation are women ages 18 to 24 at 22 percent, followed by men ages 18 to 34 at 12 percent, according to IBIS.
Suicidal ideation is when a person thinks about committing suicide but does not do it.
“Suicidal ideation refers to suicidal thoughts, including carrying out a plan, and is a risk factor for suicide or suicide attempt, according to IBIS. “Suicide rates in New Mexico have been at least double the national rate since at least 1995.”
In Otero County alone, 29.5 of every 100,000 deaths were suicides between 2016 and 2020, according to Healthy Paso del Norte.
“Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and presents a significant and preventable public health problem,” according to Paso del Norte. “More than 33,000 people kill themselves each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but suicide deaths are only part of the problem. An estimated 25 suicide attempts occur for every suicide death, and the suicide survivors may have serious injuries, as well as depression and other mental health problems.”
According to the 2019 Youth Risk and Resilience Survey, 30.2% of Otero County High School Students thought seriously about committing suicide while 22.6% of Otero County High School Students seriously considered suicide.
The 2019 Youth Risk and Resilience Survey was given to students in the fall of 2019 and is typically conducted in odd-numbered years and released in even-numbered years.
The Youth Risk and Resilience Survey assesses physical and behavioral health problems among middle and high school students.
Nicole Maxwell can be reached by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.
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