CHICAGO (WLS) — If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

One step at a time, families walked together, holding pictures, sharing words of encouragement and leaning on one another, spreading light on a picture perfect Saturday morning in Chicago.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

Saturday marked the largest suicide prevention walk in the country, Out of the Darkness Chicagoland, bringing thousands of people together at Montrose Harbor to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

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Angela Cummings is the executive director of the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“There is so much hope here. It is palpable,” Cummings said. “You see people who don’t know each other at all giving hugs.”

According to the CDC, one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes in the United States.

“Mental health matters. It matters as much as physical health,” Cummings said. “It’s just part of who we are and we all need to be open about it.”

ABC7 Chicago sports anchor Ryan Chiaverini’s brother Zach died by suicide in 2009 at just 20 years old.

“He was such a fun loving, outgoing, friendly kid, very comedic,” Chiaverini said. “Loved just watching fun movies. He could watch the movie twice, and he could recite every good punchline.”

Chiaverini has a message for people working through their grief.

“None of us wanted to be part of this club, but it’s really cathartic to know that you’re not alone,” Chiaverini said. “When you see this community come together and hug each other and love each other and tell the next person, ‘You’re not alone,’ it means a lot.”

SEE ALSO | Sisters turn heartbreak into hope at Out of the Darkness walk for suicide prevention

Kesha Stovall’s son Keontae died by suicide at 27 in 2022.

“He was real goofy, silly,” Stovall said. “He was just everything.”

She says the walk keeps his memory alive.

“I need people to be aware of suicide, and it’s okay not to be okay,” Stovall said.

Thomas Ryan walked in honor of his son Nicholas, a Madison police detective who died by suicide at 39 in 2020.

“He was very outgoing, very personable,” Ryan said.

He says opening up about his grief with others helps him process his son’s loss.

“You need to talk to other people that are in the same situation,” Ryan said. “It just helps tremendously to be able to process.”

Walking as one, lifting spirits and hope for all of us.

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