LAKE STEVENS — The organizers of a county wide suicide awareness event have experienced losing a loved one to suicide and have coalesced to spread awareness to the public around mental health. The Third Annual CHR Memorial Suicide Awareness Event takes place on Aug. 19. Through a day of activities including jogging runs, food and games, the event looks to spread awareness of how mental health affects our community and showcases the many resources for people in need of mental health services.
In 2020 in Snohomish County, among adults ages 18-34 there were 36 suicides and among ages 35-65 and older there were 54 suicides, according to the state Department of Health. There were 90 recorded suicides in just one year.
“One of the biggest things I have learned through all of this is that mental health does not discriminate. It can reach anybody at any time, any age, any aspect of their life,” said Lindley Latham, the event’s director.
The event will feature 10-kilometer, five-kilometer and one-mile runs as well as a cornhole tournament.
“I’m in it to raise awareness. I want people to know that. One in four adults struggle with mental health, and I think that if we can open up those lines of communication so that more people feel comfortable discussing their mental health, or at least acknowledging that they’re struggling,” said Latham.
The event will take place on Main Street in Lake Stevens. You can park at the Boys and Girls Club, Mt. Pilchuck Elementary, fire station parking lot or lot on 123rd. All these locations are relatively close to the event and would only require a short walk.
The event is free and open to the public, the fees are only for the participants in the races and cornhole tournament. The event is designed to be family friendly for all ages so feel free to bring yur children.
There will be food trucks, a beer garden, shopping vendors, speakers, counselors, music and more.
The event’s keynote speaker will be Brian Lovelace, a life coach. Some of the resources at the event will include representatives from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, counselors from Meraki Counseling and Oak and Linden Counseling.
All event proceeds and registration fees go towards donations for the Only Seven Seconds Organization. Only Seven Seconds is an organization that looks to eliminate loneliness that can occur through life experiences and mental disorders. The organization promotes the idea that it only takes seven seconds to reach out to your loved one and ask how they are doing or write a handwritten note or even just smile. It’s these acts of kindness that can make a difference in our community.
“I wish that we could prevent it from ever happening to anybody again. I mean, and that’s one of the reasons we are supporting Only Seven Seconds this year because they don’t focus so much on preventing suicide or specifically mental health, but they’re more about the foundation on how to help people who are struggling outside of that,” said Latham.
The event will open at 9 a.m. and will be open until 3 p.m. The 10-kilometer race will begin at 9:05 a.m, the five-kilometer race will begin at 9:20 a.m. and the one-mile race will begin at 10:30 a.m. All racers will have the entirety of the event to finish their races. The cornhole tournament begins at 11 a.m.
The race registration for the one-mile run is $35. The five-kilometer run registration is $55. The 10-kilometer run registration is $66. The cornhole tournament is $50 per team.
If you are interested in registering for any of the races or the cornhole tournament you can visit www.chrmemorial.org to sign up.
