Walk of Hope

Every 17 minutes a person in the U.S. commits suicide.

The Human Services Tech club at Zane State College hosted a "Walk of Hope" Saturday morning to help spread awareness about suicide prevention.  

"We want to get out to the community that it’s safe to talk about it, it’s okay to talk about suicide, that it’s not a bad word," said volunteer Christine Pratt.

More than 30,000 people commit suicide every year. It’s the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds. With the recent string of suicides across the nation, Pratt says this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

"It’s showing me that it doesn’t matter how much money you have, where you come from, where you live, this is affecting everyone, it’s a social problem. We need to talk and we need to talk now as if our life depends upon it, because it does," she said.

All proceeds will be donated to the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Muskingum County. Pratt says they hope raise about $1,200.