SANDPOINT — Area residents will walk across the Long Bridge this Sunday with one goal in mind — to rally and support one another.

At least 80 participants are expected for the 10th annual Walk for HOPE, an event which focuses on spreading awareness of the effects of suicide. Despite the subject matter, the walk isn’t a grieving event, it’s an opportunity for the community to spread kindness and provide a safe space for those who have been affected. 

"It’s more of a celebration of life and coming together, reminding everyone that you are loved and have support,” HOPE’s Jennifer Wyman, one of the event’s organizers, said. “We’re all gathered there, doesn’t matter what walk of life we’re from or our past or what our family name is, we are all there as a community.” 

The annual event has become a staple in the Sandpoint community, bringing in hundreds from the area every year. Wyman said that the area has fully embraced the event and others that are held to erode the stigma around suicide. 

“When you go through a loss, you feel isolated, you feel like you can’t talk about it,” Wyman said. “There’s no place that you bring that up in conversation, right? This is that day of now they don’t feel alone, you feel understood and you have someone to walk that path with.” 

The walk begins at Dog Beach, on the north side of the Long Bridge, where there will be food trucks, a DJ and plenty of time to mingle among the crowd to form a new connection. Come Sunday, the Long Bridge will be covered with light blue, from balloons to the event’s signature T-shirt, one of the primary colors of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. 

Wyman said the family’s nonprofit, Hold On Pain Ends, which puts on the event, chose to do a walk because they wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. The walk allows every attendee to do things their own way, walk, stay at Dog Beach, talk to people or simply enjoy the company of others on a beautiful day beside Lake Pend Oreille. 

The sense of community and support was a major reason that the event was put on, Wyman said. She said that people who feel suicidal won’t discuss their feelings because they don’t want to be a burden, and that this event removes some of those barriers. 

“[The walk] encourages opening the door of conversation,” Wyman said. “I feel like that’s what people are most touched by experiencing that they’re not alone and that they have someone else that can relate.”  

The nonprofit and walk were created by the Wyman family after they lost their daughter, Madison, to suicide in 2014. Wyman said that holding the event every year has become a part of the family’s healing journey and keeping Madison’s memory alive. 

"Continuing to push through those emotions, those triggers, those rollercoaster days. Every day is not the same for us as a family and each of us in the family has a different walk,” Wyman said. “We remember her in a positive way, not a negative way and for her legacy to live on and impact others.” 

Wyman said the event does so much more than just heal her family, it provides smiles and a day of connection through what can be the darkest part of people’s lives. That hope and kindness continues to motivate her to keep the event going. 

“On the day of the event, I get emotional at moments, seeing everyone come together and thinking about (Madison),” Wyman said. “But it has so much more powerful positives in it, that is why we are doing it.” 

For those interested in participating in the walk, registration is still open online at bit.ly/3VlxGKx. Wyman said HOPE has coupons for those who cannot afford the fee and is also offering in-person registration at Dog Beach an hour before the event begins. 

Registration comes with a T-shirt that can be picked up Friday from noon to 3 p.m. or Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5th Avenue Detail. 

"No one really knows what someone else’s walk might be that day,” Wyman said. “Spreading smiles, kind gestures can go a long way.”