A community is walking out of darkness, one step at a time. What started out as one family’s mission to bring awareness to suicide has become a resounding mission for many within the McIntosh County and beyond. The Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk this past Saturday at the Eufaula Cove Pavilion had over 150 people who registered for the evening event. From veterans to vendors to family members and friends, all came together for one goal – to bring awareness to suicide and how it can be possibly be prevented.
Organizer Sharina Little, who lost her18-year-old nephew just days before his 19th birthday in October of 2018, started the annual event last year in hopes that her family could share their heartbreaking experience to help others who have experienced the same trauma and to help others recognize the warning signs.
“Being able to recognize the warning signs and being able to get help is vital to individuals who are contemplating suicide,” Little said. “That’s why we want to provide information on where to find help to prevent anyone else from enduring this pain. When Brayden killed himself his freshman year of college, our entire family was devastated. We never got to see him become the man he was supposed to be. I feel like our entire family got robbed because this mental health darkness convinced him that taking his life was the only answer when we know it wasn’t. That’s why we do this to bring awareness.
“Last year we had 40 that walked. This year we doubled our walkers and brought in over $8,000 minus t-shirt expenses. We couldn’t do this without the community’s help. I’m so proud of our people for doing this.”
Sponsors of the Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk were: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Dawn’s Place The Lakeside Gypsy Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Health Guild Mortgage Eufaula Chamber of Commerce Lake Eufaula Association River Spirit Casino Resort McAlester Pepsi Resource tables included the following businesses and organizations: Impact Center Muscogee Department of Health CREOKS Health Services Green Country Behavioral Health Under One Roof VFW Post 8798 & VFWA VFW 22 A Day Ignite Health & Wellness Scotty’s Seafood Cabana was also on site for some tasty bites and cold drinks.
Tucker Leathers and Paxton Detroit entertained the crowd with several country songs as participators visited the vendor tables set up with suicide awareness material and more.
Gold Star dad, Michael D. Coon, a paratrooper in the Vietnam Era, was the special speaker for the walk this year. Coon, an inductee into the Oklahoma Military History Center for his service to his country and for his dedication to all Veterans to bring awareness to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), lost his son SSG Michael K. Coon to suicide in 2015. Though his son was a minesweeper in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Persian Gulf, he couldn’t shake his demons and left behind his wife and three sons.
The Michael K. Coon Memorial at the Military History Center at 112 N. Main St. in Broken Arrow honors not just this late third-generation soldier but stands also a reminder of veteran suicide and the high cost of freedom.
Coon told about his son’s struggle and then read to the crowd what he wished he could have told his son and now tells others.
“When you don’t have the strength to take another step, ask those you love to pull you. Your friends, loved ones, and others around you are meant to be a source of strength when you need them most. They are there to keep loving you and encouraging you while you work through your inner demons. There will always be someone to believe in you when you need it the most.”
Coon went on to remind everyone that an estimated 22 veterans commit suicide daily in the United States and that’s 22 too many.
Several members of the VFW Post 8798 and the VFWA (Auxiliary) were present at the event and walked for veterans lost daily to suicide. Several family members and friends wrote their loved ones’ names on a board that stated “I’m Walking for YOU!”
“People are still surprised by suicide. I know our family was. This is why we need to keep talking about suicide and keep offering resources for those struggling in this darkness. Most of all, we need to learn to above all else be kind because we never really know what mental battles others might be fighting. We need to let them know that there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will pull them until they can see their way out of this darkness.”
If you or anyone you know are in crisis please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting 741-741.
