Hundreds to gather in Sugar Land to walk for suicide prevention
SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- Healing can take many forms, sometimes chalk and bubbles, hot dogs and balloons.
Unexpected lessons Gretchen Yax and Angie Baldon are carrying into their second Fort Bend Hike for Hope, a walk dedicated to survivors of suicide - and remembering so many loved ones gone too soon.
"I don't know how we pull it off, but it is a very happy day," Yax said. "It's joyful."
The 1.8-mile walk returns to Sugar Land on Saturday, with more than a thousand people expected to lace up their sneakers at Brazos River Park.
Click here to register for the 2nd annual Fort Bend Hike for Hope
Registration is free, and participants can walk as individuals or as part of a team.
Proceeds benefit local American Foundation for Suicide Prevention programs, and research aimed at addressing mental health.
Facing the crisis (and healing) together
The walk's two co-chairs recently sat down with ABC13 to highlight not just the urgency but the opportunity presented by this year's Hike for Hope.
One-time strangers thrust together by tragedy, Yax and Baldon hatched a plan for the Fort Bend County walk over coffee in 2023.
Yax said it's been 20 years since she lost her brother to suicide.
Baldon talked about the impact of losing a close friend at just 18 years old, an event that changed the trajectory of her life.
"It literally shaped and changed my whole entire adulthood... because somebody was gone, so young, because he felt like he didn't have another way out," Baldon said.
"If you haven't been affected, you're extremely lucky," Yax added.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Texans in their adolescence through mid-20s, and 11th overall statewide, according to CDC data released in January.
Even more troubling, 69% of Texas communities did not have enough mental health providers to serve residents in 2023, the AFSP reports.
Sobering statistics, but an issue Yax and Baldon said is being met head on by a community of people who truly care.
Both credit AFSP's life-saving work and programs like its survivors of suicide support groups for helping inspire their efforts in Fort Bend County.
"When you realize that other people have had this go on in their lives, you come together, because you find connection with people that understand," Baldon said.
PHOTOS: 2023 Fort Bend Hike for Hope
Affirming life one step at a time
Baldon admitted she didn't know quite what to expect during the first walk.
"I have a 9-year-old. I was worried it would be very, very sad, because obviously our topic is very heavy," Baldon said. "But it really was a magical day."
More than 600 people hit the trails together, blowing past the pair's original $10,000 goal to raise over $53,000 for suicide prevention.
This year, Yax and Baldon are challenging participants to raise $60,000, a sum they believe can make a huge impact on the Texas Gulf Coast.
"If we helped one person heal a little bit, if we saved one family from losing somebody to suicide, worth it a million times over. Worth it," Yax said.
Registration opens at 8 a.m. on April 13, with the walk kicking off at 9 a.m.
Brazos River Park is located at 18427 Southwest Fwy., in Sugar Land.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
