The University of Mississippi’s chapter of Mission34, an organization dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention for college students, hosted their first ‘Angelversary Walk’ at Lamar Park on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 1 p.m. to remember and honor those who have died by suicide.
“Mission34 is a non-profit organization that (was) started to honor one of my family friends from back home, Sean Bonner,” Regan Frail, a junior exercise science major from Charlotte, N.C., said. Frail is the founder and current president of the university’s Mission34 chapter.
Sean Bonner was a student and collegiate baseball player at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, previously having lived in Charlotte, N.C. Bonner died by suicide in 2018.
Claire DeSouza, a senior general business major from Richmond, Va., serves as Mission34’s membership director and spoke on the event’s goals.
“Today we’re walking 3.4 miles to honor anyone who has passed away by suicide,” DeSouza said. “We’re trying to spread awareness and create an environment that just welcomes everyone, especially people that have been affected by suicide, whether it’s personally or someone else they know.”
UM’s Mission34 chapter was founded in August and hosts two meetings each month.
“Our first meeting was in September, and we’re just trying to do two a month. We’re trying to have one curriculum-based, which is really focusing on our education aspect, and then we’ll also have (more of a) mental health break event,” Frail said.
The chapter has continued to grow since its founding, with Frail stating over 300 individuals have joined their GroupMe. The growth, Frail said, would hopefully lead to the university’s chapter providing more resources including “Question. Persuade. Refer.” (QPR) training opportunities and guest speakers.
The QPR Institute promotes a three step process during suicide crisis situations. A “gatekeeper,” or somebody in a position to recognize a crisis is instructed to ask questions about an individual’s suicidal thoughts, persuade the individual to not go through with harming themselves and refer the individual to appropriate professional resources.
“We’re trying to create a community of people that can be heard and seen and letting people know they’re stronger when they ask for help rather than trying not to,” DeSouza said. “We can’t do it alone. We need each other’s support.”
Attendees met in the park, where they were provided free snacks and wristbands with the Mission24’s slogan, “A New Type of Tough.”
Frail spoke to the group before the walk commenced, explaining her “why” for walking.
“I will be walking for Sean. I know a lot of other people will be walking for others,” Frail said. “I think it’s a really good time to reflect. … Everyone has a different reason for walking and I’m just really excited we get to honor those who have silently had to battle and try to make that not as common in the future.”
Kathleen Havens, a freshman elementary education major from Houston, walked for one of her old teammates.
“One of my friends I used to play soccer with took her life a few years ago, and her parents started a soccer tournament to honor her,” Havens said. “I saw something like that in joining this club, so I appreciate everything it does.”
Campus resources, such as the University Counseling Center and UMatter, are available free of charge to students in need of support.
