Nearly 3,000 take part in suicide prevention walk today in Mill Creek

YOUNGSTOWN

For much of his young life, Nathan Montgomery had an outgoing, affable personality – the type of person who loved skateboarding and taking his young nephews fishing and bowling, to movies and to Cleveland Indians games.

In early 2017, however, the landscape of his life looked ominous.

“He came to me and said, ‘Mom, I’m kind of depressed,’” Denise Reynolds recalled about her late son.

Nathan killed himself Jan. 12. He was 26.

Reynolds, of Cortland, shared her son’s story during Saturday’s annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk that began and ended in Mill Creek MetroParks’ James L Wick Recreation Area as part of September’s National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

Nearly 3,000 people, including an estimated 1,100 who registered online, took part individually or on 125 teams in the 3-mile walk through the park. The two-hour event also was to raise awareness of suicide and money for prevention efforts that include counseling, education and programs for veterans, noted Cindy Orslene, an event organizer who lost her 25-year-old son, Terry Rainey, about five years ago to suicide.

“This [walk] is therapy for a lot of people,” said Orslene, who added that the event’s $35,000 goal was exceeded.

Read more about the event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.