YAKIMA, Wash. – Yakima’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) held its sixth annual “NAMI-Walks” event, marking the largest turnout in the organization’s history. More than 130 people gathered at Franklin Park, many donning greens, the color associated with mental health awareness.
The overarching theme of the event was you are not alone. Community leaders and members showed their support, offering resources such as support groups and educational materials to combat stigma and promote mental health awareness.
Angela Bazan, program director with NAMI, shared her motivation for joining the organization five years ago.
“I noticed there wasn’t enough resources around mental health and there’s a lot of stigmas in our community,” she said. “I wanted to be part of something bigger to end the stigma and to just let people know they’re not alone in their journey.”
For participants like Jennifer Waddle and Shanna Osman, the walk held a deeper significance. Waddle, mother to 13-year-old Giuliana Garcia who died by suicide in January, found a journal detailing Giuliana’s struggles.
“They [kids] don’t feel comfortable talking about it [mental health] because there’s such a stigma attached to suicide in mental health,” Waddle said. “I refuse to let her story end in silence and in the stigma that was attached to that in her brain.”
Osman, who lost her 8-year-old son Colin to suicide in 2018, started “Suicide Awareness for Colin Osman” to help other families in a similar situation. She recounted a touching Mother’s Day experience after her son’s death.
“On Mother’s Day, my husband, extended family, friends, everything I got had butterflies on them,” Osman said. “And nobody knew, except for my son and me, that I asked for butterflies.”
To conclude the event, Waddle and Osman released butterflies into the air in memory of their children. Bazan emphasized the event’s significance.
“We are just here to walk in solidarity today, to end stigma and to just promote that you’re not alone in your journey,” she stated.
