CHICAGO (WLS) — If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Families took steps together, clutching photos, exchanging supportive words, and relying on one another, illuminating a flawless Saturday morning in Chicago as they moved.

On Saturday, the nation’s largest suicide prevention walk, Out of the Darkness Chicagoland, united thousands at Montrose Harbor to emphasize the importance of suicide prevention.

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Angela Cummings is the executive director of the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“There is so much hope here. It is palpable,” Cummings said. “You see people who don’t know each other at all giving hugs.”

According to the CDC, one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes in the United States.

“Mental health matters. It matters as much as physical health,” Cummings said. “It’s just part of who we are and we all need to be open about it.”

ABC7 Chicago sports anchor Ryan Chiaverini’s brother Zach died by suicide in 2009 at just 20 years old.

“He was a fun-loving, outgoing, and friendly kid, very comedic,” Chiaverini shared. “He loved watching entertaining movies, could watch them twice, and then recite all the best punchlines.”

Chiaverini has a message for people working through their grief.

“None of us chose to join this group, but it’s incredibly healing to realize you’re not alone,” Chiaverini noted. “Seeing this community come together, offering hugs, love, and reminding the next person, ‘You’re not alone,’ means a great deal.”

Kesha Stovall’s son Keontae died by suicide at 27 in 2022.

“He was real goofy, silly,” Stovall said. “He was just everything.”

She says the walk keeps his memory alive.

“I need people to be aware of suicide, and it’s okay not to be okay,” Stovall said.

Thomas Ryan walked in honor of his son Nicholas, a Madison police detective who died by suicide at 39 in 2020.

“He was very outgoing, very personable,” Ryan said.

He says opening up about his grief with others helps him process his son’s loss.

“You need to talk to other people that are in the same situation,” Ryan said. “It just helps tremendously to be able to process.”

Walking as one, lifting spirits and hope for all of us.

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