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AKRON — Valley Connects will host its first event in light of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Akron Community Center.

Valley Connects is a mental health awareness initiative that evolved from the Tippecanoe Valley Mental Health Task Force. The task force formed following the deaths by suicide of three students of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation several years ago. 

Valley Connects aims to promote, educate and advocate for positive mental health to communities surrounding the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

The event will be hosted at Akron Community Center, 815 Rural Street, Akron from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

“Even if we just get one person that day, helping them and hearing their story would have been worth it,” said Meagan Wilkes, Director of Special Services for Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation and head of Valley Connects.

To register for the event go to https://afsp.org/survivor_day/akron-indiana.

International Survivors of Suicide Day is a global event sponsored by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

Each year, AFSP supports hundreds of large and small Survivor Day events around the world, in which suicide loss survivors come together to find connection, understanding and hope through their shared experience.

While each event is unique and offers various programming, all feature and AFSP-produced documentary that offers a message of growth, resilience and connection.

Wilkes said that Valley Connects’ first venture into hosting an International Suicide Survivors Day event will be smaller. The event will include a screening of the AFSP-produced documentary with a discussion to follow.

She encourages attendees to “bring a photo of their loved one so we can remember and celebrate them through activities of hope and connection.”

For more information contact Meagan Wilkes at (574) 598-2600 or by email at [email protected].