On Saturday, students will walk throughout campus to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention.

Beginning at University Hall at 2 p.m., the “Out of the Darkness Walk” is being hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Omega Phi Alpha sorority, said Emily Sieger, a board member of AFSP.

All University students are encouraged to donate money or show their support by registering, which they can do in the hour before the walk begins, Sieger said.

The money raised will go to the Northwest Chapter of the AFSP to provide education about suicide and outreach for survivors of suicide attempts.

“The money that’s raised will go to help fund vital research for … the correlation between depression and suicide,” Sieger said.

After the conclusion of the walk, students will participate in a survivor remembrance for anyone who knows someone who has committed suicide.

“There’s a giant stigma in our society about mental health and suicide,” Sieger said. “90 percent of suicides that occur are related to someone having an underlying mental illness.”

Sieger added she hoped the walk would encourage people to be more open about suicide and to actively support friends or family who struggle with mental illness or depression.

“By talking about it and erasing the stigma that going to get help makes you weak or that you have to keep it private … if we can come out of the darkness about that and know that people are there to help and going to get help doesn’t make you crazy,” she said.