The American Legion Riders will host their monthly suicide prevention awareness walk on Tuesday, September 22. The walk starts at 5:30 p.m. at the H.E.B Park Civic Center, weather permitting, with free refreshments and a visit to the American Legion Post 172 building after the walk is finished.

Eddie Garcia, Director of the American Legion Riders Post 172, said that this event is not only for the veteran community, but also for the larger civilian community, and all those who struggle with mental health.

“We want to extend our program to the community, not just to the veteran community but to the people of Mercedes and the Valley, because this does affect all of us…” Garcia said.

The walk has only been going for about a year, getting its start in October of 2025, and ever since then, the Riders held a walk every month on the 22nd of each month, which was chosen to bring awareness to the 22 veteran suicides per day statistic. 

“We’re just starting to get the ball rolling on it, and we just want more awareness out there for the public. I know that the police department and fire department have their own programs, but losing one life is one too many.” Garcia said.

This is not the only event the American Legion Riders will be a part of this year. Throughout the month of September, the Riders will be hosting and supporting several other events as part of their mental health awareness month efforts, such as the “Out of the Darkness” walk that will take place on Saturday, September 19. 

The annual “Out of the Darkness” walk will be held at Vestal Park in Harlingen from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., where the American Legion Riders will be serving as a supporter of the event. The event will be hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), a national organization that supports and raises mental health awareness through these walks.

This awareness walk will be completely free, and everyone is welcome, only requiring participants to register for the event on the AFSP website. 

Brianna Quiroga, Board member of the AFSP and organizer of the walk, said that this event was very important to her personally because she has experienced this kind of loss before. 

“I have actually lost a couple family members in 2021, so that’s how I got involved,” Quiroga said. “I can’t bring my family members back, but I can help try to give someone else hope…”

After the opening ceremony at 9 a.m., an activity called the bead ceremony will be held, allowing attendees who have lost someone to commemorate their memory by having a moment of silence for all.

 In addition to the bead ceremony, attendees can bring a picture of the ones they’ve lost and place them in a dedicated memorial space. 

The walk itself will be two laps around the park, after which all attendees can choose to stay for further discussions among each other and staff, and forever hold the ones they’ve lost in their hearts.

For more information regarding the “Out of the Darkness” walks, please contact Brianna Quiroga at (971) 313-1006, and for information about the American Legion Riders, please visit their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/639100515555469/