The HW Together in Hope Team attended the annual Alive Together Walk at the Wilson Plaza located in University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Sept. 28. The team was assembled by the school’s Student Mental Health Alliance (SMHA). With 20 team members and eight donations, the team raised $1,600, an amount 160% more than the initial goal of $1,000. The event consisted of a 5K walk through the UCLA campus, as well as the resource fair, lawn games and food trucks for participants to enjoy before and after the walk.
The Alive Together Walk has been organized by Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services for the last 25 years to raise awareness about suicide prevention, remember those lost to suicide, acknowledge survivors and collect funds for the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services’ Suicide Prevention Center, according to their website. Lyn Morris, CEO of the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Foundation, said in her welcome speech that the role of suicide prevention is becoming more crucial given societal circumstances.
“We’re in a difficult moment in history today,” Morris said. “Our services are needed more than ever, and it’s easy for even the strongest among us to feel overwhelmed or alone. We hear this every day through our crisis lines and also our teen line. There are tragedies and there is loss in this work. But there is profound hope and that’s what we hold on to. In the face of darkness, we show up.”
Julianna Fassas, a volunteer at this event, said the organization’s dedication to suicide prevention and its impact on the community motivated her to help out.
“I lost someone I cared about to suicide, so I think it’s a really important initiative that [the organization’s] taking just to bring awareness to it, so that people who are struggling with these feelings don’t feel so alone,” Fassas said. “I hope that [these individuals] know that there are other people who struggle with those thoughts, and there’s a community that cares about them and wants to take care of them.”
SMHA member Simren Bindra ’27 said she enjoyed seeing SMHA’s work become reality.
“The experience of helping put together our team was honestly so beautiful,” Bindra said. “I got to see the power of our community come alive, spread the word about the HW team, watch more and more people join and then see everyone show up to the walk after donations . It was really moving and such an incredible reminder of what we can do when we come together for something that matters.”
Kieran Andersen ’28 said participating in this walk helped reinforce core themes of suicide prevention and community for him.
“I was inspired [to participate] by the recent tragedy at our school,” Andersen said. “It was great to see many people united for a single cause.”
Bindra also said she wanted participants to feel the importance of coming together and making meaningful change.
“I hope people left the event realizing that they are never truly alone,” Bindra said. “Whether they walked with others there, supported them from afar or just heard about it, they matter, and people care. We all get caught up in our own heads sometimes, but when you need a shoulder, there will always be someone there. I also hope our HW community continues to see how powerful we are when we come together, we can make real change and raise awareness in a way that truly makes a difference.”
