Dozens turn out for first-ever Hope Walk
Published 1:17 pm Monday, September 23, 2024
- From left: Ruby Anderson, Kristina Salas, Pastor Jon Thomas, Missy Saltzman, Dylan Osborn and Andrew Goodwin near the end of the one-mile loop of Ilwaco High School’s inaugural Hope Walk last Friday, Sept. 20.
ILWACO — “Hope is a strong trustworthy anchor,” states a church reader board that can be spotted along First Avenue North as you drive into Ilwaco.
Early last Friday morning, just a hop, skip and a jump from that uplifting message, about 50 Ilwaco High School students, staff and community members participated in the school’s first-ever Hope Walk. The walk along a roughly one-mile loop that started and ended in the IHS parking lot coincided with National Suicide Prevention Month, which falls during the month of September.
The event was spearheaded by the high school’s new counselor, Travis Krueger, who said that he wanted participants to know that they’re not alone. “Just seeing everybody show up and rally for our students is so special.
“Small communities are very near and dear to my heart,” Krueger added. “I grew up in a small community, and that’s why I chose to come out here as a school counselor as my first role.”
Peace of Mind Pacific County was also on hand and offered assistance, and Dylan’s Cottage Bakery gave the school a discount for the donuts that attendees enjoyed following the walk.
Attendees were encouraged to wear purple- and teal-colored clothing, a symbol meant to raise awareness for suicide prevention, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Krueger hopes that the walk can blossom into an annual event that grows bigger over time to provide greater outreach. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 22% of high school students report having serious thoughts of suicide, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among children age 10-14 and the third leading cause for the 15-24 age group.
“It’s definitely a need,” he said. “We need to be speaking more about it and bringing more awareness about it, and I think this is a start.”
IHS Principal Sheena Burke said the school’s administrators “heard a message of hope” over the summer, “and more importantly the science of hope.”
“Hope benefits wellbeing, happiness, life satisfaction, relationships and belonging,” said Burke. “It benefits mental health; promotes coping with loss and chronic stressors; resilience to trauma, to loneliness and to lack of social belonging.”
Hope, Burke said, consists of three things:
- Goals. “Our goal today is to walk this route together and to end up back here together;”
- A pathway;
- And willpower. “That’s where we all come in together to support one another.”
“Today, we welcome you to join us on this Hope Walk as a symbol of the hope that we can build and the strength and support that we have in each other,” Burke told attendees before the walk began. “I encourage you to take the time to get to know someone, to introduce yourself and to visit and just enjoy being in each other’s company.
“In a world that can be so harsh and so isolating, let’s make this commitment to be here for one another.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the church reader board stated “Hope is a strong trustworthy factor.”