Help spread hope at the Amargosa Hope Walk
Mental health matters – it’s the sentiment at the center of an event slated for next weekend in Amargosa, where a Hope Walk will take over the local park for a full day aimed at raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention.
Brandi Farias, an Amargosa area parent who is helping to lead the charge on the Hope Walk, explained that the event was originally intended to be Nye County School District-wide.
“Last year, our school social worker out here, Ava Proulx, asked me to help out when the school district had contacted her about doing it. She really wanted to make this a big event to spread awareness for mental health and suicide prevention and I didn’t mind helping, because it is such an important issue,” Farias explained.
However, the school district ultimately decided to cancel the district-wide plans. But Farias and fellow event organizer Proulx did not allow that to deter them, with Farias remarking, “We are sticking with it!”
She also noted that the subject of mental health awareness and suicide prevention is deeply personal to her.
“It’s unfortunate that sometimes these things lead to people reaching that point where they want to harm themselves or take their own life. We’ve actually had family members and friends who recently [died by] suicide. So, this means a lot to me,” Farias remarked.
As detailed by Mental Health America (MHA), nearly one in five American adults will have a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. “Forty-six percent of Americans will meet criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life. Half of those people will develop conditions by the age of 14,” the nonprofit organization informs.
According to data from MHA, for overall mental health, Nevada ranked last among the 50 states and District of Columbia in 2024. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2023, the latest year for which data is available, there were 690 recorded deaths by suicide in Nevada, a rate of 20.3 per 100,000 population.
“We’re trying to support this Hope Walk because we know a lot of people have mental health issues, and there are a lot more kinds of mental health issues than what most people normally think about, too,” Farias told the Pahrump Valley Times. “We want to help create a sense of community at this event, to show anybody who may be struggling with mental health concerns that they are not alone and support can be found.”
Aside from gathering to raise awareness, there will be vendors offering both crafts and foods at the Hope Walk, along with a 50/50 raffle for attendees to enter. All of the fees paid by the vendors and proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will then go to the Amargosa school’s Hope Squad, a peer-led group dedicated to supporting mental health and battling the effects of bullying in a world where kindness is not always the mainstay.
The Hope Walk is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Amargosa Valley Park, 1639 E. Farm Rd.
For more information contact Farias at BLFarias09@gmail.com or 702-539-9787.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
