‘You will be okay’: Suicide Awareness walk brings hope to Goleta Beach
Tracy Lehr
GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) — A suicide awareness walk took place at Goleta Beach Park, honoring lives lost and reminding participants that no one walks alone.
The 2025 Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness Walk on Saturday brought hundreds together to reflect, connect, and find comfort in community.
“You will be okay,” was the message echoing across the beach during the annual event, led by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and supported by local sponsors.
“It takes a lot of strength for everyone that’s here to be here today. There are a lot of emotions that come, it can be the heartache of missing a loved one, it can be joyful pain, but it’s hard to stand and be here,” said Suzanne Grimmesey with the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness.
The event began as a small local gathering but has since grown significantly. “The first one I went to had maybe 35 people at it,” said Angela Parker, a participant. “Right now, I think we’re well over 350 people walking and an incredible amount of funds have been raised for suicide awareness research,” added Grimmesey.
During the ceremony, walkers held up colored beads to represent their personal connections to loss. “As we call out your bead colors, hold your beads high so we can see who you are walking for today,” said one event speaker. “Purple represents the loss of a friend or relative. We thank you for being here, and we honor your loved one.”
For Linda Silva, the walk was deeply personal. “It makes me feel good that we’re raising awareness so that no other parent or family or sibling has to go through what I’ve gone through,” Silva said. “We have a team of about 60 of us, and they’re all here to support us, in memory of my son.”
Others said they found unexpected healing through the event.
“My brother committed suicide. My mother wanted to come to the first one that we heard about, and I took her out of obligation,” Parker said. “I thought this was going to be the most depressing day of my life. But I came back so uplifted. The emotion is actually comfort, you see other people going through the same thing. It’s everybody. It’s not a type of person or a color of a person. Every family can experience it, and it makes you feel less alone.”
That message of resilience carried throughout the morning. “I’m not okay,” said Elliot Davis, an Out of the Darkness speaker. “I will be. You keep getting up. You keep fighting. And even though you’re not okay today, I promise you, if you do the work, you will be.”
For help, call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.