Around 200 people gathered this past Sunday to join Be the Voice BU and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFP) for the Butler University Out of the Darkness Campus Walk.
The Out of the Darkness walk convenes annually on campus, occurring for the 15th year in 2026. One of the main portions of the event is the actual walk around campus, but it also focuses on donations and raising awareness about suicide and mental health issues.
Kylie Hagarty, the fundraising manager for ASFP’s Indiana chapter, explained that Butler has one of the strongest fundraising campaigns in the country.
“A really cool thing about Butler University — specifically the campus walk here — is [that] it has been ranked in the top five in the nation the past several years,” Hagarty said.
According to the Butler AFSP website, there has already been $22,791 raised. This includes 124 donations from 171 registered participants. Attendees could walk in a team for a specific person or cause, with four teams walking this year.
The Out of the Darkness walk is not exclusive to students. This year, the majority of participants were community members. The event is not held just to tackle the mental health of students, but to give a safe space to the entire community.
“[Mental health struggles] can feel very isolating, and you really can feel like you’re alone,” Hagarty said. “When you’re in a room of people who you know have a connection with the cause, it can be very comforting and healing.”
Besides fundraising and walking, there were on-site visitor booths where you could find information about suicide prevention and mental health resources. There was also a craft table that had succulents and stations to make bracelets, signs and lanterns.
The company Paws&Think also attended the event and provided service dogs for attendees to interact with.
Lauren Keys, a first-year criminology and psychology combined major, is a member of Be the Voice BU and helped host the event this year. Keys was happy with the turnout and found the experience rewarding.
“It made me feel really great that this many people would come and support suicide prevention,” Keys said. “There were a lot of people out seeing us walk, seeing what we were supporting, which was awesome.”
One tradition that happens at all AFSP walks, including Butler’s, is the bead ceremony. Participants raise color-coded beads to represent why they walked. Some examples of color beads are related to the loss of friends or family, personal, supporting someone who struggles or overall supporting suicide prevention.
“The honor beads are a way for people to have that personal connection,” Hagarty said. “All of our stories have one thing in common, but they’re all so very different, too. The honor beads are a really good way of representing that for people.”
Resources and information for mental health are available on the AFSP website, and if immediate support is needed, people can reach out to the national suicide prevention hotline — 988.
“[The] 988 number is free for anybody to call, text or online chat, anytime,” Hagarty. “The thing that I always tell people about 988 is you don’t have to be the one struggling. It is a really good resource.”