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PROMES Sponsors Out of Darkness Walk
By
Lindsay Lewis
Some 140 people participated in the 2nd Annual Out of the Darkness Campus Walk held at the University of Houston on Saturday, April 16. The walk was sponsored by PROMES.
Some 140 people participated in the 2nd Annual Out of the Darkness Campus Walk held at the University of Houston on Saturday, April 16. The walk was sponsored by PROMES.

The Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies (PROMES), an engineering excellence program at the Cullen College of Engineering, sponsored the 2nd Annual Out of the Darkness Campus Walk held at the University of Houston last Saturday. The three-mile walk around the UH Campus is part of a larger, nationwide effort that benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

"It is gratifying to see the UH students adopt this cause, which is very personal to many of the volunteers," said Kathy Zerda, director of PROMES and instructional assistant professor at the Cullen College. "Suicide is the number two cause of death nationally among college students, second only to accidents.  We want to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts, let UH students know how to seek help for themselves or their friends, and reduce the stigma attached to mental illness.” 

Some 140 people from the Greater Houston area participated in the walk, raising more than $3,000 to support research and educational programs surrounding depression and mental illness. Cullen College student organizations Triangle and Phi Sigma Rho came out to support the walk as well as UH's Tau Kappa Epsilon student chapter.

Local business such as Gulfgate HEB, Target, The French Corner, Sweet Tomatoes, Pearson Publishing and Nunn-McGinty supported the walk by providing snacks and drinks or donations.

UH students, staff and faculty may contact UH CAPS at (713) 743-5454 to inquire about services, or visit the online at http://caps.uh.edu.  For emergencies contact the Crisis Intervention of Houston at (713) 468-5463 or the National Suicide Hotline at (800) 799-4889.

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