TURBOTVILLE — Three Warrior Run High School graduates are working to raise awareness about suicide, help prevent suicide and support families and friends who have lost loved ones to something often referred to as a “hush, hush subject.” The siblings from the Miller family all have known someone who committed suicide, according to Judy Miller who now lives in Maryland.

Her brother Joe, of Williamsport, has organized a Walk to Prevent Suicide themed “Out of the Darkness” to be held starting at 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at Penn College in Williamsport.

The walk is the first of its kind in Lycoming County, according to the Millers who grew up in the Turbotville area.

Joe is manager of audio/visual services at The Pennsylvania College of Technology and is a trained support group facilitator for people who have lost loved ones to suicide and hosts a support group that meets in Muncy.

Judy has organized several National Survivors of Suicide Day events in Washington, D.C., with one coming up Nov. 21 and worked with a college professor who published a paper from the diary of a suicide victim.

Judy works in Washington, D.C., and two blocks from the White House, serving as vice president of Union Privilege, a branch of the AFL-CIO which provides benefits and services to labor union members.

Their sister, Janice, a neurologist in Bolder, Colo., volunteers at a thrift shop that supports suicide prevention and distributes lists of help and resources at the Boulder, Colo., hospital ER.

The Williamsport walk is scheduled along with others across the country where thousands of people will be walking this fall to raise money, through pledges, donations and registration fees, to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“The walks are a great way for folks to come together to recognize publicly a major public health concern in our area — one that is often not openly discussed. They also serve as a networking aid, bringing folks together whose lives have been touched by such a loss,” Joe said. “It lets them know that they are not alone and that there is hope to rise above the ashes of grief, shock and despair that often can accommodate such a tragedy,” he said.

No attendance or financial goals have been set for the first walk. “Twenty-five walkers raising $5,000 would be a major success and would give us a starting point for the future,” Joe said.

Judy said the foundation is at the forefront of research, education and prevention initiatives aimed at reducing deaths from suicide.

“Because every 16 minutes someone in the U.S. dies by suicide, this mission has become more and more critical,” she said.

The Miller siblings will all be walking in the Williamsport event.

“More people than you would ever imagine are touched by suicide. I talk openly about suicide so people dealing with this tragedy know to come to me for help and resources. My goal is to bring suicide, as well as all mental health issues, out in the open and remove the stigma surrounding it,” said Judy, a 1971 Warrior Run graduate.

Janice graduated from Warrior Run in 1974. Joe is a 1983 graduate.