Out of the Darkness Walk Returns to Pasadena’s Central Park as Local Families Still Feel Eaton Fire’s Toll

Walkers will gather in Pasadena’s Central Park on Saturday, Nov. 7, for the Greater Los Angeles Pasadena Out of the Darkness Walk, a free suicide prevention walk organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The walk comes nearly two years after the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and the leaders of the organizing chapter and of a sponsoring mental health agency say local families are still feeling its effects. Joslynn Skelton, executive director of AFSP’s Greater Los Angeles and Central Coast Chapter, said of Pasadena and Altadena families that “they’re still struggling and we hear it all the time.”

Skelton said that “when we’re out at the middle schools and high schools, we’re seeing a lot of these children that are still dealing with some of the repercussions.”

Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States in 2024, when 48,824 Americans died by suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national age-adjusted rate was 13.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024, down from 14.1 in 2023, according to a CDC data brief.

Check-in begins at 9 a.m. and the program starts at 10 a.m., according to AFSP’s event page. The walk is non-competitive and between 1 and 3 miles; AFSP said the route would be posted closer to walk day. The program includes an opening ceremony, what AFSP calls activities of hope and healing, resource tables and complimentary honor beads for every participant, according to the event page.

Skelton said she will speak at the event, along with a chapter board member who will present what she called mission moments, and that the same group of drummers that performed last year will return. The walk will again have an area where “people can post pictures and write notes and just a way to honor and memorialize their loved ones,” she said.

Each honor bead color reflects a walker’s connection to the cause; white, for example, marks the loss of a child. Skelton said the beads let walkers “look around and find other people with similar losses,” and that during the program, walkers hold up their colors in a ceremony. “And it’s just a really beautiful way for us to see that you’re not alone in this,” she said.

Skelton said “this walk just isn’t for people who have lost loved ones by suicide. This is also supporting those who struggle.”

Sycamores, a Pasadena-based behavioral health agency founded in 1902 as the city’s first orphanage, is a sponsor of the walk. Dr. Jana Lord, Sycamores’ chief operating officer, said the agency supports the Pasadena walk because “our organization has our roots in Pasadena.”

Lord said Sycamores is part of the countywide mobile crisis response system under contract with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. She said the county groups its data by region and cannot isolate Pasadena and Altadena, but that the San Gabriel Valley’s share of countywide mobile crisis calls rose from about 9% at the start of the prior year to 15% over the past year, while total countywide calls also increased.

“In San Gabriel Valley, that community, we’ve seen an increase in need,” Lord said. She said the rise could reflect both wider awareness of the services and growing need: “I think it’s probably both, a combination of the two that needs are increasing.”

Lord said that since the Eaton Fire, Sycamores has “seen a switch in our predominant diagnoses from depressive symptoms to trauma,” a category she said includes anxiety. She said the agency cannot attribute that shift to the fire.

Lord said some young people have told Sycamores staff that recent strong winds brought back memories of the night the fire broke out. “We really encourage our families to adhere to routines. If they don’t have routines, develop them, particularly around moments of transition,” she said.

“988 is a crisis line and their calls will be answered by a trained counselor who can be there and listen to any of the concerns that they might have,” Lord said. She said most of the mobile crisis calls Sycamores responds to are placed by someone other than the person in crisis: “It is a loved one calling on somebody else that they’re concerned about.”

To request a mobile crisis team, residents can call the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s 24/7 Help Line at 800-854-7771, Lord said. Skelton noted that people can also call 988 for someone else: “And you don’t just have to be for yourself. You can call on behalf of somebody else as well.”

Lord said families should watch for dramatic changes from a person’s usual behavior, including agitation, isolation, trouble sleeping and marked changes in appetite. She said that “if we’ve got impairment in sleep, behavior, mood, or appetite, those would be really good warning signs to pay attention to.”

Skelton suggested going beyond a quick “How are you doing?” to open-ended questions such as “What was something that made you laugh today?” “Don’t be afraid to check on your friends and your family,” she said.

The chapter offers free prevention programs to schools, workplaces and community groups, including Talk Saves Lives, Seize the Awkward, Hard Hat Courage for the construction industry and Pride Pathways for the LGBTQ+ community, Skelton said; information is at afsp.org/la. “Our programs are free. It’s through our Out of the Darkness walks and the money that is raised that helps keep our programming free for our community,” she said.

Skelton said resource providers at the walk will include the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, the county Office of Violence Prevention, Didi Hirsch, LifeStance and Free Mom Hugs, and that Las Encinas Hospital is among this year’s sponsors. The Pasadena walk is held at Central Park and marked its 10th anniversary in 2023.

Registration is free at afspwalks.donordrive.com/Pasadena, and walkers can also sign up on walk day. “You can register at the event,” Skelton said. Walkers who individually raise $150 or more by Nov. 7 receive the official walk T-shirt, and donations are accepted through Dec. 31, according to the event page. Central Park is at 275 S. Raymond Ave.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, dial 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or text TALK to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. The Didi Hirsch 24-hour crisis line is 1-877-727-4747, and the Los Angeles County Help Line is 800-854-7771.