Those who visited last Thursday’s Summer Street Stroll Farmers Market in Great Bend were reminded there are exactly zero reasons why suicide should be an option. Volunteers with the Suicide Prevention Task Force were on hand to share information in observance of Suicide Prevention Month.

There were tables with literature, luminaries, kindness rocks and signs promoting the campaign “#Zero Reasons Why.”

Signs were customized with messages such as “There are zero reasons why you shouldn’t smile” and “There are zero reasons why your life isn’t worth living.” 

The awareness campaign will continue this month with the task force’s 8th annual Glow Run, although it looks a little different this year. The usual 5K Run/Walk and the Remembrance ceremony will shift to a virtual event. Register on-line to compete in the virtual run/walk on the Suicide Prevention - Central Kansas Partnership Facebook page, https://www.ckpartnership.org/.

Registration opened Sept. 1 and continues until Sept. 30. The cost is $25, and the funds raised will be used for education to prevent suicide. One luminary, with a loved one’s name, will be included in the cost of registration for the Glow Run. Additional luminaries may also be purchased for $10 and the bags can be personally decorated by the donor or have the task force decorate it.

The Suicide Prevention Task Force’s motto is “Your Life, It Matters.” The National Suicide Prevention

Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at the toll-free telephone number 1-800-273-TALK (800-273-8255). New members in the local task force are always welcome. If interested, contact the Center for Counseling, 620-792-2544, for information about meeting times.