2024 Indiana Chapter Highlights and AFSP Chapter Leadership Conference
February 6, 2025 – 4 min read
Together, We’re Making a Lasting Impact
Real and lasting change is happening—because of you. Your dedication to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide across Indiana fuels everything we do. Thanks to your generosity and commitment, we’re able to provide education, advocacy, and support programs to our communities.
To the hundreds of volunteers who have transformed your passion into action—thank you. Your efforts make a profound difference in the lives of so many.
The funds raised through AFSP Indiana empower us to:
🔹 Fund critical research to better understand and prevent suicide
🔹 Develop and deliver evidence-based educational programs and workshops
🔹 Advocate for policies that prioritize mental health and suicide prevention
🔹 Provide life-saving resources and support for those impacted by suicide
Because of you, hope is stronger in every Hoosier community. Thank you for standing with us in this vital work. 💙
2025 AFSP Chapter Leadership Conference and Awards
At our annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Chapter Leadership Conference in January of 2025, our AFSP Indiana Chapter was recognized for several achievements for 2024:
- Chapter of the Year Mid-Size Market
- Outstanding Chapter Social Media (they called out our collaboration with the Colts, our highlights of grassroots fundraising like Hugs for Hope and our monthly program snapshots)
- Century Club for the 2024 Northwest Indiana Out of the Darkness Walk (raised $100K for the 2nd year in a row)
- Butler University Out of the Darkness Walk ranked 6th in the country for 2024 Campus walks
- Indianapolis Out of the Darkness Walk ranked 4th in the country for 2024 Community walks
Thank you to our amazing volunteers!
Together, we are creating real and lasting change, and it’s thanks to you. We thank you for your shared commitment to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide throughout Indiana. It is because of you that we are able to deliver our educational, advocacy, and loss survivor support resources and programming to the community. Thank you to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who have turned your generous gifts into action across our Hoosier communities.
Funds raised by AFSP will allow us to fund critical research, create and deliver evidence based educational programs, advocate for public policy, provide suicide prevention resources and literature throughout our Hoosier communities and support those affected by suicide.
2024 Hoosier Out of the Darkness Walks
The AFSP Indiana Chapter proudly hosted 15 Out of the Darkness Walks in 2024, bringing together 8,816 walkers and 947 teams. Together, we raised over $882,000 to support AFSP’s mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide throughout our Hoosier communities.
2024 Chapter Program Highlights
With the help of our volunteers, the Indiana Chapter:
- hosted Suicide Bereavement Clinician Training
- hosted Adult Suicide Loss Support Group Facilitator Training
- hosted 2 Virtual Research Connections
- hosted 22 Indiana Chapter Volunteer Orientations
- hosted annual Indiana Advocacy Day at Indiana State Capitol
- hosted 3 safeTALK Workshops
- hosted 7 ASIST Workshops
- hosted 2 Supporting Those at Risk Programs
- hosted 2 L.E.T.S Save Lives
- hosted 44 Talk Saves Lives Programs
- (Standard, LGBTQ, Workplace, Seniors, Firearms, Construction & Corrections)
- participated in Eli Lilly’s Save a Life Event (2nd year in a row)
- hosted 2 Talk Saves Lives: Latinx and Hispanic Communities (Spanish version)
- hosted 21 It’s Real: Teens and Mental Health for High School/Middle School Students
- hosted 16 International Survivors of Suicide Loss Days throughout Indiana in November
Indiana Chapter Program Recap
- 2022: 84 programs/events hosted with 6,550 program participants
- 2023: 182 programs/events hosted with 12,661 program participants
- 2024: 225 programs/events hosted with 56,429 program participants
Out in the Community
Our chapter had some really neat opportunities to engage throughout our Hoosier communities this year! Some of the highlights include:
- Art Saves Lives Community Art Show | Indy
- Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelets & Stickers |Statewide
- Beyond Monumental Marathon | Indy
- Indianapolis Mini Marathon | Indy
- Cookout for Life - Team Zacs Amazing Crew | Indy
- Paul Hansan Memorial Golf Outing | Noblesville
- HVAF Veterans' Stand Down | Indy
- Jay Marie Salon and Spa Show for Hope | Schererville
- Music 2 Heal Concert | Zionsville
- Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC)| Indy
- Out of the Darkness Car Show | Anderson
- Rex the Rock Snake | Richmond
- Team Chad Raffle | Martinsville
- Community Pride Events | Statewide
- NW Indiana Ride to Fight Suicide | Merrillville
- Hugs for Hope | Beech Grove
- MATA Strong Raffle | Schererville
- AFSP Euchre Tournament | Madison
- U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials | Indy
988 and Resource Distribution
Distributed over 105,000 coffee sleeves with 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline resources to 70+ Hoosier coffee shops thanks to the help from our friends from the Indianapolis Colts Kicking The Stigma and Indianapolis Coffee Guide.
Supplied Overdose Lifeline with 30,000+ 988 wallet cards each month for their overdose reversal kits, totaling 360,000 cards distributed statewide.
Provided suicide prevention and loss resources to thousands of schools, places of worship, workplaces, funeral homes, clinical behavioral health offices, police department firehouses and the greater community at no cost.
Your support drives awareness and hope across our communities every single day. Together, we’re making the roads a little brighter and the world a lot safer.- Learn more here: afsp.org/chapter/indiana-license-plate
- The AFSP license plate is $40, with $25 going directly to the Indiana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Funds raised will help AFSP Indiana continue to help spread hope and healing through education, advocacy, research, and survivor support.
Thank you for helping spread hope and healing across our Hoosier communities! We could not do this important work without our amazing volunteers!
Learn more about the Indiana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by visiting our chapter website at afsp.org/indiana and following us on our chapter Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.