- May 20, 2024
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Locals walk around the lake at Central Park to spread awareness for suicide prevention. Photo by Paige Wilson
Event organizers Savannah Rose and Melaine Cucco. Photo by Paige Wilson
The National Suicide Prevention hotline number is written on a rock in Central Park. Photo by Paige Wilson
Savannah Rose holds up her necklace that honors her best friend, Cora Engel, whom she lost to suicide in 2015. Photo by Paige Wilson
The Palm Coast Out of the Darkness Community Walk was held on Nov. 4. Photo by Paige Wilson
Savannah Rose (left) talks to School Board member Colleen Conklin as they walk around the lake. Photo by Paige Wilson
Melanie Cucco shows a tattoo she got in her father's handwriting to honor him after she lost him to suicide in 2008. Photo by Paige Wilson
Locals walk around the lake at Central Park to spread awareness for suicide prevention. Photo by Paige Wilson
Statistics from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Savannah Rose lost her best friend, Cora Engel, to suicide in December 2015. Just one month and one day later, she lost another close friend of hers, Lindsey Brockhaus, to suicide.
That’s when Rose found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“I just decided I wanted to make this a slightly positive thing, and just try to make it OK to talk about,” said Rose, a Palm Coast resident who’s now an advocate with AFSP. “It is a topic that needs to be talked about sometimes, and [we need] to bring light to it.”
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Rose clutched her heart-shaped necklace that has Cora’s fingerprint on it. The back reads her name, and the inside has her ashes. Cora is always with her this way. It’s been almost two years since Cora’s death, and Rose is now co-leading an AFSP Out of the Darkness Community Walk with Melanie Cucco at Central Park in Town Center.
Cucco lost her father, Pat Cucco, to suicide on Nov. 7, 2008. She said AFSP has given her support from people who are going through similar situations.
“I love being a part of this organization,” Cucco said. “It’s a healing process, and it’s been great for me because he’s been gone for almost 10 years, and it’s hard — it’s hard to cope with that.”
Cucco has a tattoo to honor her father on her arm. In his handwriting, it reads: “I love you. Love Dad.” A semicolon rests under it as a tribute to the Semicolon Project, which is a nonprofit that focuses on mental health and suicide prevention.
Dozens gathered to walk around the lake at Central Park on Saturday to create a conversation about suicide prevention. While the walk was free to enter, all donations will be given to AFSP for research, prevention, education, advocacy, public policy and support.
Rose said they’ve raised $1,500 for the cause as of Nov. 3.
Flagler School Board member Colleen Conklin said she came out to show support and “hopefully help remove the stigma around mental health.” While Flagler Schools has put on campus walks to spread awareness about suicide prevention, this was the first-annual Palm Coast walk to include people from all over the county.
“You want students and children and young people and really anybody to understand that there’s help available,” Conklin said. “Life has some really stormy, stormy times, and if you weather those storms, you come out the other side, and there’s really beautiful sunny days ahead.”
According to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., with 44,193 suicides a year. For every suicide, there are 25 attempts.
Cucco said the walk honored the loved ones they’ve lost and spread awareness to prevent future losses.
“We’re also here for the people who have even thought about it,” Rose said. “[They need] to know that there are resources, and there are people to talk to.”
