Mental health leaders in Tompkins County provided information about community services during The Sophie Fund’s 9th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest on October 19.
Ithaca Free Clinic’s Norbert McCloskey briefs Cornell students about his agency’s work
Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Norbert McCloskey, executive director of the Ithaca Free Clinic, which provides healthcare to individuals regardless of ability to pay, expressed gratitude for the support the agency receives from the community.
“I have had the honor for number of years now to work with an organization that does all that it can to make sure that people can access the healthcare that they need. We’re able to do that because all of our services are provided by community volunteers—everyone from MDs all the way down to the kind lady who comes in once a week and waters our plants,” McCloskey said.
Ithaca Free Clinic
McCloskey noted the connection between healthcare and mental health.
“Nothing really creates anxiety in the life of an individual than being ill and not being able to see a doctor, not being able to get the care that they need. Whether that care is primary family practice care, or acupuncture, or herbalism, or chiropractic, or occupational therapy, or seeing an optometrist to get the eyewear that they need in order to live a full and productive life.
“You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that a significant number of people who come to our doors do suffer from a variety of mental health conditions. We are able to help them recognize that, and then steer them toward this vast array of organizations that we have in our community to get help that they need to live full, productive, happy, and joyful lives.”
Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, said that her agency has been able to expand its services beyond its role as a local call center for the national 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline.
Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County
She told the Awards Ceremony audience that SPCS now handles calls from 16 other New York State counties in addition to Tompkins County. She said her agency also launched a 24-hour “warm line” for people who are not in crisis yet need a person to talk to, as well as a 24-hour LGBTQ peer support line.
“It is so incredibly necessary. We need to have everyone talking about mental health all the time,” she said.
Bloss pointed people to SPCS’s newly redesigned website, “an incredible resource for mental health.”
“We really just want to get the word out and get people talking about mental health and suicide. Make it not a scary topic. We need to look at it like we look at our physical health,” she said.
Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force
Mental Health Association in Tompkins County
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — Greater Central New York
National Alliance on Mental Illness — Finger Lakes
More than 200 people raised over $35,000 in the 12th Annual Greater Ithaca Out of the Darkness Walk on September 7 organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Greater Central New York Chapter.
2024 Out of the Darkness Walk at Myers Park
The Greater Ithaca Walk, which took place in Myers Park in Lansing on Cayuga Lake during a persistent morning drizzle, is among 400 held across the country every year designed to raise awareness, support survivors of suicide loss, and collect funds for research, training, and educational programming.
This year’s Walk was held during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Walkers included many people who lost a family member, friend, or colleague to suicide.
L3 Lisa’s Lagomorph Legion was the top fundraising team again this year, collecting $5,743.53. Team Hope brought in $2,430; Team 22 $1,970; Boynton Middle School Rainbow Alliance & Friends $1,052; and 988 lifeline legends $1,035.
“Suicide has impacted so many lives,” said Walk Chair Crystal Howser, kicking off the event. “When we come together, we are letting everyone know you are not alone, and we are here to support each other. United, we strive to be a source of strength for our community.”
AFSP’s Stacy Ayres, Karen Heisig, Crystal Howser, and Amber Parker
Jennifer Carlton-Cooper shared a powerful story to explain why she has participated in Greater Ithaca Walks since they began. Having struggled with suicide ideation herself, she lost her 22-year-old son Nick in 2021. Her daughter’s father Jeremy had died by suicide 11 months earlier.
“We must push for mental health to become a national priority and normalize sharing our feelings,” she said. “I ask each of you to assume you are the only one who will be there for your family and friends or others around you when they need a conversation to help save their life. Talk saves lives. Be a lifesaver.”
Carlton-Cooper said that over the many years she has struggled she learned how to recognize her own warning signs and created a safety plan for herself. “The one key tool in my plan is to phone a friend,” she explained. “Remember, if you struggle, as I do, have a plan. If you know someone who struggles, let them know you will always be their plan.”
In the Walk’s opening ceremony, Emily Georgia performed “Leave a Light On” by Papa Roach.
Amber Parker ended the ceremony with the reading of a poem, “I Heard Your Voice In The Wind Today,” by an unknown poet.
I heard your voice in the wind today
and I turned to see your face;
The warmth of the wind caressed me
as I stood silently in place.
I felt your touch in the sun today
as its warmth filled the sky;
I closed my eyes for your embrace
and my spirit soared high.
I saw your eyes in the window pane
as I watched the falling rain;
It seemed as each raindrop fell
it quietly said your name.
I held you close in my heart today
it made me feel complete;
You may have died…but you are not gone
you will always be a part of me.
As long as the sun shines…
the wind blows…
the rain falls…
You will live on inside of me forever
for that is all my heart knows.
The 2024 Greater Ithaca Walk was sponsored by:
CFCU Community Credit Union; The Strebel Planning Group’s Fund for Community Enrichment; Cayuga Lake Seido Karate; Maguire Automotive; Borgwarner; Pizza and Bones; Lansing Funeral Home; Texas Roadhouse; Cayuga Health System; Visions Federal Credit Union; Tioga State Bank Foundation; Cayuga Lake National Bank; Ithaca Apartment Management/Solomon Organization; Speak Up Cortland!; Lansing Fire Department; Ace Hardware; Wegmans; Cayuga Radio Group.
Some 350 participants trekked a collective total of 361 miles in the rain and raised $20,545.34 on April 14 in the second annual Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention on the Cornell University campus. The organizers surpassed their $20,000 goal and nearly doubled the $11,692.32 collected during the first-ever Cornell walk in 2023.
Cornellians walking to prevent suicide
Donning Big Red caps and brimming with smiles under skies that alternated between sunny and rainy, packs of students including Cornell athletes and fraternity brothers traveled the two-mile route from Barton Hall to Feeney Way, along Tower Road, and then Campus Road back to the starting point.
“You are making a difference,” said walk organizer Cheyanne Scholl, addressing the participants inside Barton Hall. “By showing up today, you are sending the message that mental health is as real as physical health. You are sending the message that reaching out for help is the strong thing to do. You are showing others that the issue of suicide cannot and will not be kept in the darkness. And thanks to you, we remain hopeful.”
Among the participants in this year’s Cornell walk were 18 fundraising teams, with Claire’s Colony bringing in the most funds, $5,001.52. Other top teams included Cornell HR, The Statler Hotel, Cornell Athletics, and Taylor Strong. Jennie Toal was the top individual fundraiser, followed by Jessica Cunningham, Scott Lyerla, Michelle Artibee, and Christine Lovely.
Almost 600 Out of the Darkness walks are held across the United States each year by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to raise awareness, collect research funds, and send a message that “suicide is preventable and no one is alone.” In 2023, Overnight, Community, and Campus walks raised more than $27.8 million.
In her remarks, Scholl, who led an organizing team consisting of students, staff, faculty, and members of the AFSP Greater Central New York chapter, spoke of experiencing tremendous grief after a close high school friend took their own life just five months after graduation.
Walk organizer Cheyanne Scholl
“I fell apart for months after Jack’s death. I was functioning on the outside, but hollow on the inside,” she said. Then Jack’s mother invited Scholl to take part in an Out of the Darkness Walk, which inspired her to organize a walk at her own university. She spearheaded the first walk at Cornell after moving to Ithaca in 2023.
“This event changed my life,” Scholl explained. “I had never been in a space where mental health was spoken about so openly. Where it was allowed and encouraged to talk about loss and grief. Having mental health coalitions, groups, and other resources in one place where I could approach them and be honest with myself about how much I needed them was huge.”
Another speaker was Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service (SPCS), which is a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center and also provides training and community education.
Bloss said she experienced suicide as a small child when a 13-year-old cousin took their own life. She would then confront the issue even more directly as her young son experienced mental health crises.
“My son is who fueled me to get involved with this mission on a bigger scale. As a mom, I wanted to know more, I wanted to educate others, I wanted people to talk about suicide,” she said.
Upon joining SPCS in 2022, Bloss expanded the 55-year-old organization’s reach by operating 24/7 and covering 17 counties in Upstate New York. The volume of calls, texts, and chats increased from 6,339 in 2022 to 16,793 connections in 2023 to already 8,742 through mid-April this year.
“We are here, day or night. Call. Text. Website chat. Individuals can even email our helpline. We are here,” Bloss said.
Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County
According to Bloss, SPCS crisis line counselors go through more than 280 hours of training before they independently take calls.
“This is incredibly important work, and we want to ensure that they have the tools needed to engage in these really tough conversations. Individuals who reach out are in a really vulnerable space in their lives. Individuals identify crisis in their own way, and we allow for that. We listen to their story. Their experience. We support their emotions, and we talk them through options by validating what they have been though and working on a plan to stay safe,” she said.
Bloss said that SPCS offers free opportunities for the public to learn about crisis intervention, ranging from a 45-minute virtual experience to a full two-day workshop. In 2023, SPCS conducted trainings with 228 individuals to help the community become suicide-safer.
Sonia Rucker, associate vice president for Cornell’s Department of Inclusion and Belonging and a Presidential Advisor for Diversity and Equity, shared how she was shaken last year by the shock suicide death of a close friend of 20 years.
Though trained as a social worker and having worked on teams dealing with college students in crisis, Rucker said she could not believe that her friend would take her own life. “Not only did I think that things like that only happened to other people, I had another huge blind spot,” she explained.
Over the years, she and her friend often championed how black women have survived the worst aspects of their history by being strong. Rucker said that her friend’s death made her realize the importance of allowing vulnerability and reaching out for help.
Sonia Rucker, associate vice president for Cornell’s Department of Inclusion and Belonging
“We believed that being strong was more important than anything else. We could take more than anyone else. More criticism, more disappointment, more pain, more racism, more sexism. No one could break us. We spent so much time talking about how strong we were, we avoided talking about when we were hurt. We were so good at being strong we forgot to be vulnerable. We forgot to be human,” she said.
“Sometimes we needed to reach out to each other and say, ‘I can’t do this alone. I need help. I need your support. I feel broken, I don’t feel like I can do this anymore, and I can’t continue to hide it.’ Through the loss of my special friend, I discovered that I needed to redefine what it meant to be strong. I discovered my real strength is knowing when to ask for help,” Rucker said.
Cornellians left messages on the “Why We Walk” wall:
For Yiannis
Speak up you will be listened to
To honor lives lived & lost to honor those who mourn
All veterinary professionals—students, assistants, doctors, faculty, techs, animal lovers
You are loved
To my friend!
I am walking for my Dad
For my Uncle Tim
Your life matters
Be Kind
I am walking for Jason Parente
You are never alone
Walking for “You”
Because it does get better!
You matter
I’m walking for anyone who feels alone
Dear Sweet Sister Linda, You’ll always be in my heart, and I’ll always be your kid sista!
Before the walk, an opening ceremony to honor those lost to suicide and their survivors
Walkin’ in the Rain
The Long and Winding Road
Cornell men’s soccer team
Alpha Gamma Rho members
National Alliance on Mental Illness—Finger Lakes
Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County
Cheyanne Scholl, Touchdown the Big Red Bear, and AFSP Area Director Karen Heisig
Be Kind Ithaca & Free Hugs Ithaca
Heartfelt messages of support
Thank you, mental health workforce!
Cornell University in the light
If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
Mental health is a big challenge for universities, but not one that many people want to talk about. At Cornell University, there are voices trying to make a difference.
In 2023, individual volunteers from the campus community came together to start conversations about mental illness and suicide prevention and promote local mental health resources. Working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Greater Central New York chapter, we formed a committee to organize an AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk on the Cornell campus last spring to raise awareness about suicide and fight the stigma that keeps many from seeking help.
Cornellians at the 2023 Out of the Darkness Walk
Our committee is proud to announce that the second annual Out of the Darkness Walk at Cornell will be held on Sunday April 14 starting at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall.
The Walk will follow an accessible two-mile route circling through the center of the beautiful Cornell campus. It is for people of all fitness levels and abilities. Participants may also walk on Barton Hall’s indoor track. The event wraps up around 1 p.m.
More than 500 AFSP Out of the Darkness walks are held across the country each year. They send a message that “suicide is preventable, and no one is alone” and raise funds for research, mental health programming, and support for survivors of suicide loss. The nearly 200 people participating in last year’s Cornell Walk raised $11,692.32.
Established in 1987, AFSP is a nonprofit organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education, and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. The fundraising goes toward lifesaving care, resources, and programming in the mission to reduce suicide rates and advance improved mental health.
2023 walkers on the Cornell campus
For me, as for many other volunteers, Out of the Darkness walks are deeply personal. Just as I was starting college in 2017, I was introduced to AFSP in a traumatic period after my longtime friend Jack Noonan took his own life.
Jack was one of the first friends I made when I moved to a new school in seventh grade. He saw me sitting alone on the bus on the way to a trip for honor choir and chose to sit with me and introduce me to his friends who went on to become my friends as well. I was a very socially anxious kid, and he helped me find a place to belong.
Jack took his own life two months into starting college. As a college freshman you are just learning how to be independent. You are in a new place, learning a new lifestyle, and that is very difficult. It is hard to reach out for help when you do not know where to find it.
I signed up for my first Out of the Darkness Walk in early 2018 after Jack’s mom invited me to join her. It was a life changing experience for me. It was the first time I was in a space where we were encouraged to speak about mental health problems and surviving suicide loss. I felt heard, seen.
After participating in that Walk, I began volunteering with AFSP to try to make a difference. I started an Out of the Darkness Walk at Central College, my small undergraduate school in Pella, Iowa, the following spring.
When I moved from Iowa to Ithaca and accepted a job at Cornell in 2022, I began exploring the possibility of organizing a campus Out of the Darkness Walk here. I was partly motivated by the school’s well-publicized history with student suicide deaths.
I remember reading the Cornell Wikipedia page and seeing an entire section dedicated to students lost to suicide. It is a deeply sad statistic and I became determined to make a difference here.
I have been gratified by the outpouring of involvement I discovered. We quickly formed a committee consisting of passionate Cornell undergrads, graduate students, staff members, and faculty members.
It is a team dedicated to spreading information about mental health and safe spaces to speak about mental health, and improving conversations and ending stigma on the Cornell campus. We organize AFSP fundraising events including the Walk, host tabling sessions to showcase available resources, and serve on several campus committees focused on mental health concerns.
Of course, my goal for the 2024 Cornell Walk is to make it bigger and better to reach a wider audience across campus. The more Cornell community members participate in the Walk, listen to the speakers, and learn about the resources available, the more lives that can be helped—and saved.
Barton Hall is Event Central, with registration at 11 a.m.; a kickoff ceremony; a resource fair featuring local and campus health providers; yard games; AFSP merch; a raffle for donated items from local and campus businesses; a memorial and positivity sticky note wall; snacks including cotton candy, popcorn, and root beer floats; and a selfie station with Cornell’s own mascot, Touchdown the Big Red Bear.
Speaking at the event: Cornell’s Sonia Rucker, associate vice president for the Department of Inclusion and Belonging and a Presidential Advisor for Diversity and Equity; and Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.
Sponsors of this year’s Cornell Walk include the Cornell Work/Life Team, Cornell Dairy Bar, Wegmans, NY FarmNet, and UPS in Collegetown.
Allow me another word: You do not have to be personally impacted by mental health or suicide to attend this event. Chances are, you or someone you know has struggled with mental health challenges. I hope you will participate because you care about mental health and suicide prevention. Believe me, the mood of this event is hopeful!
—By Cheyanne Scholl
Cheyanne Scholl is the founder of the Cornell University Out of the Darkness Walk and chair for the 2024 Walk.
If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
More than 200 people raised over $30,000 in the 11th Annual Greater Ithaca Out of the Darkness Walk on September 9 organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Greater Central New York Chapter.
2023 Out of the Darkness Walk at Myers Park
The walk, which took place in Meyers Park in Lansing on the edge of Cayuga Lake, is among 400 held across the country every year designed to raise awareness and collect funds for research, training, and programming.
This year’s Greater Ithaca walk was held during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Walkers included many people who lost a loved one, friend, or colleague to suicide.
L³ Lisa’s Lagomorph Legion was the top fundraising team this year, collecting $6,285. Team Hope brought in $3,507; Jack’s Pack $2,377; Team 22 $1,150; and CFCU Standing with Stacy $1,110.
“Our mission, to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide, would not be possible without each of you,” Crystal Howser, the walk chair, said in remarks kicking off the event.
Howser said that she volunteers with AFSP to remember and honor the memory of her father, Jerry Howser, and the many others who lost their battle to depression and other mental illnesses.
“We strive to be a source of strength for our community and let everyone know they are not alone,” she added. “On this journey, strangers turn into friends and friends turn into family as we connect with one another and navigate through our grief. Together, we are strong. Together, we are making a difference.”
AFSP’s Cheyanne Scholl, Crystal Howser, and Karen Heisig
Dave Ashton, morning host on Ithaca’s WYXL-FM, said that suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death in the United States and can no longer be swept under the rug.
“By showing up today, you are sending the message that mental health is as real as physical health. You are sending the message that reaching out for help is the strong thing to do. Suicide is a health issue that affects all of us,” he said.
Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, a mental health advocacy organization in Ithaca, said that the most recent statistics indicate a 5 percent increase in the national suicide rate in 2021 and 2.6 percent increase in 2022.
But he cited contributions to greater local suicide prevention efforts, by AFSP as well as the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition, Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service, Cayuga Health System, and others. He said that medical providers are working toward implementing the Zero Suicide Model, a quality improvement program designed to more effectively identify at-risk individuals and close gaps in in their care management.
The 2023 walk was sponsored by:
CFCU Community Credit Union; The Strebel Planning Group’s Fund for Community Enrichment; Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service; Maguire Automotive; Borgwarner; Pizza and Bones; Lansing Funeral Home; Ithaca Beer Company; Texas Roadhouse; Moore Family Farm; Cayuga Health System; Visions Federal Credit Union; Lansing Redemption Center; Cayuga Lake National Bank; Tioga State Bank Foundation; Ithaca Apartment Management/Solomon Organization; Antlers Restaurant; GreenStar Food Co+op.
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