This year, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Maryland is holding a statewide Out of the Darkness Campus Walk, a virtual, combined event with universities, colleges, and schools across Maryland. Suicide is an issue that impacts us all and we hope this event gives our greater community an opportunity to come together to care for one another and raise awareness about suicide prevention. Please join the Johns Hopkins University team and walk with us.
This event will take place on Saturday April 24 and/or Sunday April 25. To participate or donate, visit our team homepage.
In coordination with the AFSP Maryland Chapter 2021 Out of the Darkness Walk, Hopkins will be hosting a number of free events to raise awareness about mental health, well-being, and suicide prevention during a Week of Action. Please attend any of the events, register to walk with us, and share with others.
Friday April 9
Event: Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention
Time: 1pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: This event is hosted by AFSP Maryland and Towson University Counseling Center and the Johns Hopkins Student Assistant Program. Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention is a community-based presentation that covers the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide. Participants will learn common risk factors and warning signs associated with suicide, and how to keep themselves and others safe. Open to the Johns Hopkins community. Presented by AFSP Maryland in partnership with Towson University and Johns Hopkins University.
Registration: A Zoom link will be emailed to you the day before the event. To receive the meeting link, please register here before April 9 at 12 pm.
Event: Break Free From Depression Workshop (First in a Four-Week Series)
Time: 1-2 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: The curriculum of this four-week session offered through the Homewood Counseling Center is designed to increase awareness and knowledge about depression, enhance the ability to recognize signs and symptoms in yourself and others, and increase skills and strategies for coping and finding help. Attendees do not need to attend all sessions in this series.
Registration: Use this form.
Saturday April 10
Event: Mindful Self-Care and Compassion with Nila Mechali Berger
Time: 9:30-10:30am EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Join us for a session on mindful self-care and compassion. Learn about the ways in which breath and movement can increase self-awareness and mindfulness with a quiet mind, and then engage in a discussion about the self-care wheel, increasing kindness toward yourself and others. There will be some physical movement in this session but no yoga mat or equipment is required. Please have pen and paper available for a short journaling exercise and come with an open mind to learn and discuss self-care and compassion.
Zoom Info: Join via this Zoom link. Meeting ID: 955 5254 6138, passcode: 418012.
Monday April 12
Event: 2021 Out of the Darkness Walk Information Sessions (30 mins each)
Time: 12:00-12:30pm and 5:00-5:30pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Information and Q&A about the MD Virtual Out of the Darkness Walk.
Zoom Info: Join via this Zoom link. Meeting ID: 935 2203 8290, passcode: 705826.
Tuesday April 13
Event: Connecting with Mental Health Resources, a discussion with Frances Callahan, JHSAP Clinical Manager, and Carol Spencer, JHSAP Student Assistance Specialist
Time: 12:00-1:00 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Participants will be acquainted with mental health resources for Hopkins affiliates. Community and national resources will be discussed, as will recommendations for finding a community provider.
Zoom Info: Join via this Zoom link. Meeting ID: 957 8528 0475, passcode: 619642.
Event: Out of the Darkness Talk: How to Support a Friend
Time: 6:00 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Homewood PEEPs (Prevention Education and Empowerment for Peers) will be hosting a Zoom event, where they will facilitate discussions and provide resources from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention around supporting a struggling friend, how to have real conversations about mental health, and more. Open to students and trainees.
Registration Info: Visit this page.
Wednesday April 14
Event: QPR Training for Faculty and Staff with Dr. Tristan Barsky and Dr. Durriya Meer of Homewood Counseling Center
Time: 3:30-5:00 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide and how to intervene effectively to refer someone to help. Question, Persuade and Refer are 3 simple steps everyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. In this 1.5 hour training, you will learn to notice the signs of suicide, practice active listening through role play, and then learn the resources for an effective referral. Join us for this training to learn how to save lives. QPR is a suicide prevention program listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. Open to faculty and staff.
Zoom Info: Join via this Zoom link. Meeting ID: 936 0102 4467, passcode: 279783.
Event: Mindful Yoga Workshop in Honor of Suicide Prevention and Awareness
Time: 5:00-6:00pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: Come to this special session of Mindful Yoga for a workshop on yoga, movement and meditation, facilitated by certified yoga instructor Nila Berger Mechali. We can all benefit from an opportunity to stop, breathe, reflect and take intentional action to fill our lives with healing and hope. There will be some physical movement in this session but no yoga mat or equipment is required. Please have pen and paper available for a short journaling exercise and come with an open mind.
Zoom Info: Join via this Zoom link. Meeting ID: 933 7134 6285, passcode: mindful.
Friday April 16
Event: AFSP Raffle
Time: 12:00pm EDT entry deadline.
Location: Virtual.
Details: There will be random drawings for AFSP -and wellness-related prizes for 10 registered walkers (no fundraising required) and five fundraisers (minimum $5 fundraised). Winners will be notified by email.
Registration: To participate or donate, visit our team homepage.
Event: Break Free From Depression Workshop (Second in a Four-Week Series)
Time: 1-2 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: The curriculum of this four-week session offered through the Homewood Counseling Center is designed to increase awareness and knowledge about depression, enhance the ability to recognize signs and symptoms in yourself and others, and increase skills and strategies for coping and finding help. Attendees do not need to attend all sessions in this series.
Registration: Use this form.
Saturday April 17
Event: It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health
Time: 12:00pm EDT entry deadline.
Location: Virtual.
Details: It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health is an AFSP-produced documentary conveying that depression and other mental health conditions are real illnesses that can be managed through specific treatments and interventions. It encourages students to be mindful of the state of their mental health, to acknowledge and recognize when they are struggling, and to take steps to seek help. After the documentary. we will discuss how to protect your mental health during challenging times.
Registration: Visit this page.
Friday April 23
Event: Break Free From Depression Workshop (Third in a Four-Week Series)
Time: 1-2 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: The curriculum of this four-week session offered through the Homewood Counseling Center is designed to increase awareness and knowledge about depression, enhance the ability to recognize signs and symptoms in yourself and others, and increase skills and strategies for coping and finding help. Attendees do not need to attend all sessions in this series.
Registration: Use this form.
Friday April 30
Event: Break Free From Depression Workshop (Fourth in a Four-Week Series)
Time: 1-2 pm EDT
Location: Virtual.
Details: The curriculum of this four-week session offered through the Homewood Counseling Center is designed to increase awareness and knowledge about depression, enhance the ability to recognize signs and symptoms in yourself and others, and increase skills and strategies for coping and finding help. Attendees do not need to attend all sessions in this series.
Registration: Use this form.