Hope Walk brings suicide awareness to Alamogordo

MountainView Church's annual Hope Walk for suicide prevention has a special guest speaker this year in Lacey Sturm, the former lead singer of rock band 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 Hope Walk begins at 4 p.m. on Oct. 1 p.m. at the Tays Center on Scenic Drive with the walk going to Washington Park on the corner of East First Street and Washington Avenue.

"We're walking for those who have lost their lives to suicide," Torres said. "We're also walking for hope."

The walk is expected to last about 40 minutes, Torres said.

The event at Washington Park includes worship, bounce houses, free food such as hot dogs and hamburgers, suicide prevention resources and special guest Sturm's taling about her recovery.

Sturm's autobiography, "The Reason: How I discovered a Life Worth Living" in 2014.

"After a screaming match with her grandmother, she ended up in the back of a sanctuary, hating everyone in the room," her book's synopsis states. "But what happened in that room is The Reason she is alive today."

Sturm found God that day and is a wife and mother of three.

Flyleaf was 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 since been on hiatus.

The band's debut single, "I'm So Sick" was released in 2006 and reached 12 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 2005-2006.

Adult suicidal ideation in New Mexico has remained at about 6% between 2011 and 2020, according to the New Mexico's Health Indicator Data and Statistics, or IBIS.

From February 2022:Alamogordo Public Schools suspends Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey at middle schools

Most of New Mexico's adults experiencing suicidal ideation are women between the ages of 18 and 24 at 22% and then men between the ages of 18 and 34 a 12%, ccording to IBIS.

Suicidal ideation is when a person thinks about committing suicide but does not go through with the act.

"Suicidal ideation refers to thoughts of suicide, including making a plan, and is a risk factor for suicide or attempted suicide, according to IBIS. "Suicide rates in New Mexico have been at least twice the national rate since at least 1995."

In Otero county alone, 29.5 of 100,000 deaths were be suicide between 2016 and 2020, according to Healthy Paso del Norte.

"Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, presenting a major, 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 only account for part of the problem. An estimated 25 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death, and those who survive suicide may have serious injuries, in addition to having depression and other mental problems."

According to the 2019 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, 30.2% of Otero County middle schoolers seriously thought about killing themselves while 22.6% of Otero County high schoolers seriously considered suicide.

The 2019 youth Risk and Resiliency Survey was given to students in the fall of 2019 and is usually given on odd numbered years and released in even numbered years.

The Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey assesses both physical and behavioral health issues among middle school and high school students.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Hope Walk brings suicide awareness to Alamogordo