‘Out of the Darkness’ event to be held to support suicide prevention effort

   This Saturday (Oct. 8), a “Walk Out of Darkness” event will be held to raise awareness of services available to those struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Funds raised will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

    But the 5K (3 mile) walk through downtown Marksville will not be a funeral procession, nor will the event surrounding it be a somber and stilted occasion.

    This will be a march of hope and a celebration of life.

    Anthony and Jackie Bordelon, of Hamburg, decided to organize the event to raise public awareness. They were joined by Andy and Angie Dixon of Dupont. Andy’s brother and sister-in-law, Toby and Stacy Dixon, and Jackie’s sister Janice Hess, also worked to make the event happen.

    Both families have suffered the loss of a son to suicide. Jerry Bordelon shot himself on Sept. 10, 2015. Adam Dixon died of a self-inflicted gunshot on May 16, 2014.

   Almost 300 participants had registered for the event as of early last week, Jackie Bordelon said. Registration will continue through 8 a.m. on Oct. 8 at the Marksville Fire Station meeting room. The  opening ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. on the courthouse steps.

   All participants must register. There is no registration fee. Teams and individuals walking in the event may choose to donate to the effort.

   There will be a few special speakers at the opening ceremonies, including a suicide survivor and at least one family’s experiences with coping after the loss of a loved one.

   “Some teams have raised money through bake sales or other fundraisers,” Jackie said. “Some just have each member make a donation.”

   Anthony and Jackie said the reason they organized the event was to hopefully prevent other families from having to endure the heartache they have had since they lost Jerry.

   “We want to raise the community awareness and try to break the stigma of suicide and depression,” Jackie said. “We want to let people know there are resources out there that can help them and their loved ones.”

   Angie Dixon said she and her husband became aware of Jackie’s efforts and Andy wanted to enter a team in the walk.

   “We had a lot of support from people for that team,” Angie said. “Then I met Jackie. She needed help with the event and I knew that without help it wouldn’t be as successful as it should be. So we started to help her late in the game, got sponsors and support.

   “Everywhere we went expecting something we left with tenfold what we had expected,” Angie said. “The support for this effort has been tremendous. I believe God has led us to these people and that He wants to make a difference in this community to remove the stigma associated with mental health.”

    Various agencies will have booths set up for those needing information on mental health or suicide prevention services, or for those struggling with the aftermath of a loss of a loved one to suicide.

    There will also be somewhat of a festival atmosphere, with food vendors, a DJ, a photo booth, arts & crafts and a jumping house for children aged 5 and under.

   The only fees involved are for vendors, who are charged $25 for booth space not requiring electricity and $50 if electricity is needed. There is still booth space available, Angie said.

   There will  be a more serious activity to remember those who lost their lives to suicide.

   “We will have an “Angel Board’ where people can post photos of those lost to suicide,” Jackie said. “We will also have a ‘Story Board’ where people can pin short stories about their loved ones who have died from suicide.”

   Following the walk, there will be a balloon release. People will be able to write a short message, or just the name of their loved one, and attach it to one of the balloons.

   “When I lost my son, I said something had to be done,” Jackie said. “Dr. L.J. Mayeux, the parish coroner, told us that Avoyelles has one of the highest suicide rates in the state. It seems like it is so common today. Years ago, we never heard about suicides. Maybe it is because people never talked about them when they happened.”

   The Bordelons have been married for 23 years and had two children, Jerry and Kaitlin, who is now a freshman at LSUA. None of their life experiences had prepared them for the loss of their son.

   “Our son was depressed,” Jackie said. “The signs were there, but we just didn’t recognize them. After this happened, I did research online and could see what we didn’t see before.”

“If this helps even one person, it is worth it,” Anthony added. “Our goal is to help somebody so other families don’t have to go through what we are going through.”

   “People have to realize that it’s okay to not be okay,” Jackie continued. “There are people they can speak to without being judged or called ‘mental.’”

   Jackie said she is glad that teams from Marksville High and Avoyelles High are signed up for the walk. Both schools have experienced the shock of a classmate’s suicide -- Avoyelles in 2014 and Marksville last year. Both incidents were blamed on bullying.

  Avoyelles Public Charter School is also working with the event.

  “I would like to get the schools involved in this issue to address bullying,” Jackie said. “Bullying may not be the only cause of a suicide, but it can trigger it.”

   Jackie and Anthony said Jerry appeared to be happy. He loved his job as a corrections officer at Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport. He was engaged to be married.

   In June 2015, his fiancee broke off the engagement.

   “If he had any other issues that may have led to this, we were unaware of it,” Jackie said. “He never wanted to talk about the issue of the break-up. We learned later that is one of the signs of a potential suicide.”

    She said her son “didn’t show it a whole lot. There were only a few times when he was visibly upset.

   “He still went hunting and fishing,” Jackie continued. “He would go to dinner with his work buddies. He had made plans for the future about things he wanted to do.”

   Anthony said hunting and fishing were Jerry’s two favorite activities.

   “He had gone hunting that morning,” Anthony recalled.

   Later that day, Jerry took a pistol he had bought a few months earlier and killed himself.

   “After we started working to put this event together, we found a lot of people who have lost family members or friends to suicide,” Jackie said. “Almost everyone we come into contact with has a connection to a suicide.”

   Angie said it is important that those struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts “talk about openly, not hide it and try to deal with it alone. This is intended to support those who suffer quietly and alone because they are afraid they will be stigmatized and called ‘mental.’

   “The brain is an organ, just like the heart and the lungs,” Angie continued. “It can malfunction and be diseased just like other organs. We do not call people with a heart condition ‘cardial’ or those with lung cancer ‘pulmonal.’ A mental illness is the same as an illness in any other part of the body and should not carry a stigma.”

   For more information, call the Bordelons at 318-419-0620 or the Dixons at 337-519-1888.

   To register online, Google out of the darkness walk marksville and click on the appropriate afspdonordrive.com option.

   Online registration ends Friday.