The event featured a performance from the Glockenspiel, a speech from speaker Chris Gordon, and a parade down Minnesota Street running from the Glockenspiel to the Legion. Police Chief and Master of Ceremonies Dave Borchert said they had an event several years ago to recognize suicide among veterans and other military members.

After discussions with several veterans organizations he’s involved in, Borchert said it felt important to bring an expanded version of that event back.

“Bring recognition to this challenge,” he said. “It’s a challenge with military, but it’s also a challenge with the community. This is meant to be a community recognition event.”

Borchert said bringing awareness to this issue hits home with him as someone who has encountered mental health challenges with community members and co-workers. He said it should be recognized that mental health should be as real and understood as physical health.

Several groups and individual attendees, who were invited to join in, walked along Minnesota Street Saturday to march for September Suicide and Mental Health Awareness Month.

“If I throw out my back, there’s no question about me sharing that with other people,” Borchert said. “If I witness a traumatic event and I’m dealing with health issues like depression, there’s reluctance to share that. Mental health, unfortunately, is always connected with weakness.”

The message Borchert hoped people took away from the event is that they are not alone. Reaching out to professionals and telling friends can help people find solutions to this serious challenge.

Chris Gordon, who nearly died in 2015 after receiving flesh-eating bacteria from a cut in his hand, spoke at the event. He said he had to undergo several life-saving surgeries, including a graft from his left thigh to his left forearm. But as he recovered physically, Gordon said he struggled deeply mentally.

“I had suffered a traumatic event, and it had me asking all kinds of questions,” he said. “How was I going to be the best dad and father I could be? How could I teach as well as I did before? How can I run? The week before my hospitalization, I ran a 5k in less than 20 minutes. Now I couldn’t even run it all. I had all those questions and no answers.”

Gordon said his questions didn’t remain unanswered for long, as people rushed in to help. They donated to his GoFundMe and did physical labor like snow-blowing he was unable to.

Gloria Blume (left) and Donovan Doffing (right) help set up before the event begins.

As a self-described pop-culture geek and superhero fan, Gordon used Superman as a metaphor describing reaching out for help in his time of need. After describing how impervious and invulnerable Superman is, Gordon asked why Superman was in the Justice League. He said it’s because even Superman has his weaknesses.

“Superman is susceptible to kryptonite,” Gordon said. “He also has no invincibility towards magic. Superman needs help. If the Man of Steel needs assistance, doesn’t that make you feel a little bit better? That it’s okay to ask for help? It’s okay to let people know that you are not okay.”

To bring people closer together, Gordon ended his speech with the three H’s. The first is a head nod. He said this simple acknowledgment can be paired with a simple greeting like “sup?” The second is a hand gesture, which could be a high five, handshake, or fist bump. The third is a hug, which Gordon said has been observed in studies to reduce stress and release endorphins in your body.

He then encouraged people to give head nods, hand gestures, and hugs to the people around them, challenging those in attendance to connect with others and let them know they are never alone.

After the parade, a broasted pork chop meal ended the event inside the American Legion.