September was Suicide Prevention Month and we were very busy here on Long Island! We logged 23 events in September including multiple Talk Saves Lives presentations and 9 different community tabling events! Here are some programming highlights from the month of September:

 

On September 21st, we hosted Long Island's first ever Soul Shop™ for Black Churches with support from Northwell Health. Soul Shop™ for Black Churches is a one-day workshop designed for clergy, staff, lay pastors, and faith-based clinicians in the Black Church. Given the prominence of the church within Black communities, Soul Shop™ equips these leaders who are on the front lines of the mental health crisis to minister to those impacted by all the faces of trauma and struggle in regards to suicide. We brought together 16 faith leaders from the Long Island community for this unique training and positive feedback was given by all attendees! 

We worked together quite a bit this month with our partner in suicide prevention, Dr. Jeff Thompson, retired NYPD Detective and suicide prevention researcher at Colombia University. Dr. Thompson provides suicide prevention trainings specific to law enforcement and first responders, populations that are disproportionately impacted by suicide. We were able to partner with the NYC and Hudson Valley/Westchester chapters to sponsor a training with the NYPD and FDNY soccer teams prior to their 6th Annual Ford Classic game played at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island, which we also had a table at to raise awareness for attendees. In addition to this, AFSP LI was present at the Nassau County Police Department's Wellness Days in recognition of National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day on September 26th. NCPD hosted an event held at two different times for team members and their families in which Dr. Thompson spoke to the audience about suicide prevention and instilling hope and resilience within departments. 

 

In addition to these events, we continued to provide suicide prevention education through our community education program, Talk Saves Lives, and through tabling at events across Long Island. Program highlights include presenting to students at NYIT, businesses such as Corebridge Financial, Inc., MMC, and Purolator, Inc., and connecting with the construction industry at their local MCA meeting. Tabling events included the 106th Rescue Wing Family Health & Wellness Day, East Northport Public Library Mental Health Fair, Harold's Hoops for Hope 3V3 Tournament at Simplay, and many more!

 

In addition to our chapter-led events, many of our teams and registered walkers hosted events in the community to promote suicide prevention awareness and raise money for their teams as well! Check out some of these great events here:

Huge shout-out and thank you to all of our amazing volunteers who helped with these programs and tabling events to spread the word about AFSP and suicide prevention in our community! We truly couldn't do this work without you!

You could win 2 tickets to see Sebastian Maniscalco at the Barclays Center on March 7, 2025 while also supporting AFSP Long Island! There are two different ways to be entered to win- See below for incentive details:

 

Incentive #1: Now through October 11, 2024
- Sell $250 Piece of the Walk sign for Jones Beach (receive 4 entry tickets)
- Sell $500 Piece of the Walk sign for Jones Beach (receive 10 entry tickets)

Incentive #2: Now through December 31, 2024

-Create a Facebook fundraiser now through 10/31/24 (receive 5 entry tickets)

- Raise $250 on Facebook fundraiser (receive additional 2 entry tickets)
- Raise $500 on Facebook fundraiser (receive additional 5 entry tickets)

- Raise $1,000 on Facebook fundraiser (receive additional 20 entry tickets)

Winner will be drawn on January 1st, 2025!
For more information, contact Carrie Aronson at caronson@afsp.org

It's Out of the Darkness Walk season at AFSP! Our East End Walk took place this past month on September 22nd at Smith Point County Park and mother nature gave us a beautiful day for the event! Over 300 participants joined us to walk for suicide prevention and together our community has raised over $45,000 for this walk! But we're not done yet! Fundraising for the walks continues until the end of the year and we still need help getting to our $70,000 goal! Teams and participants are encouraged to continue fundraising and hosting events to benefit their fundraising efforts. We are happy to assist with fundraising efforts and can help you bring your ideas to reality! Just reach out to our Special Events Manager, Carrie Aronson at caronson@afsp.org for assistance! 

Did you miss the East End Walk but still want to walk Out of the Darkness with us? Join us on Sunday, October 27th at Jones Beach for our biggest event of the year! Each year, thousands of Long Islander's come out to Jones Beach to walk with us for suicide prevention. It's a day filled with hope and inspiration as we build a community that is smart about mental health! Can't make it on October 27th but still want to be involved? You can still register and join a team to fundraise for the event! Our Out of the Darkness Walks are our chapter's main fundraising event that help us to continue to do important suicide prevention work throughout the year right here on Long Island and we cannot do it without your support! 

Planning a fundraiser for your team and want it highlighted in our newsletter, social media, or posted on our upcoming events calendar? Let us know! Reach out to Katie, our Programs Manager, with more info about your event at kdeitz@afsp.org

Click on each event image to learn more/register for event!