Ruby Henderson-Themis, support manager for New Mexico Highlands University’s CARES office, left, and Carmelita Sanchez, director of student wellbeing and resource support for NMHU’s General Store Food Pantry, pose at the CARES office on Sept. 17. They stand behind luminaria bags, a poster and a T-shirt designed for the “Out of the Darkness” 5k Run & Walk for Suicide Prevention and Awareness event, set to take place Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. at Melody Park.
Mental health advocates are inviting the community to step “out of the darkness” for suicide prevention and awareness.
Presented by New Mexico Highlands University, the “Out of the Darkness” 5k Run & Walk for Suicide Prevention and Awareness is scheduled to take place Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. at Melody Park on campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Carmelita Sanchez, director of student wellbeing and resource support for NMHU’s General Store Food Pantry, said the event’s theme is guiding those with suicide ideation “out of the darkness.” To this end, runners and walkers will have their path lit up with luminarias decorated specifically for the event.
A drone show, glow-in-the-dark swag, and a balloon glow will also help light up the evening, Sanchez said.
Local DJ Wheresluke will begin the night’s entertainment at 4 p.m. Ruby Henderson-Themis, NMHU CARES support manager, will serve as the event’s emcee.
Registration will also begin at 4 p.m., with the first 200 participants receiving a free T-shirt, Sanchez said. Information tables with mental health resources will also be available as well as field games.
On Sept. 17, Sanchez said two food trucks were confirmed for the event: Granny’s Summer Snow and Sinful Espresso.
The run/walk will start around 5:30 p.m. Members of the community have been preparing for the event, such as decorating paper bags to serve as luminarias that will light the path of runners and walkers, Sanchez said.
“Our students have been helping us decorate (the luminaria bags) for the past month,” Sanchez said. She said on Friday that NMHU students, along with event sponsors and partners, have helped decorate more than 200 bags to serve as luminarias. NMHU students also helped decorate posters to “help inspire the runners” during the event, Sanchez said.
A balloon glow – sponsored by the NMHU Alumni Relations – will take place around 6:30 p.m. Sanchez said three balloonists involved with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will bring three hot air balloons and set them aglow. They will fly the balloons about 20 feet in the air.
The evening’s event will conclude when 300 drones present a show at 7:45 p.m.
Sanchez called the drone show the night’s “grand finale.” It is sponsored by NMHU’s Student Life and Outdoor Recreation and put on by Open Sky Drone Light Shows.
Event organizers and campus leaders, including NMHU Interim President Dr. Kimberly Blea, will deliver speeches as the race begins.
Sanchez said Blea started the run 12 years ago. Blea also founded the Campus Violence Prevention Program, which is now NMHU’s Center for Advocacy Resources Education & Support. Commonly abbreviated as HU CARES, the center provides mental health resources to the campus community.
Social worker Felicia Martinez, who serves as Director of Student Health and Wellness Resources for CARES, will address the crowd, along with Sanchez and Juli Salman, director of Alumni Relations.
Sanchez and Henderson-Themis noted that the event is not a race; there will be no prizes for those who complete the 5k first. The event is solely for the community to come together and raise awareness about suicide.
“(The event) is to raise awareness about suicide prevention,” Henderson-Themis said.
