‘Out of the Darkness’: Hundreds to Join Sunrise Mental Health Walks in Pleasantville, Chappaqua

By Abby Luby

It’s 4:30 in the morning on a cool June day, and hundreds of people are scurrying around in the dark, pulling on blue “Break the Hold” T-shirts and sipping from water bottles. Candles are being lit, giving the moment a surreal, almost mystical feeling. But the energy is authentic.

It’s a scene that will repeat for the seventh annual Break the Hold Into the Light Walk on Sunday, June 8, at 4:30 a.m.

The walk begins at Pleasantville High School and loops around the village for about two miles, returning to the school by sunrise. The transition from darkness to light symbolizes the journey of those who have overcome, or who are still trying to emerge from, the gloom of mental illness into the light of wellness.

The Pleasantville-based suicide prevention organization Break the Hold (BTH) has sponsored the walk for the past seven years. It was founded in 2018 by Brian Halloran and his family shortly after Halloran’s 19-year-old son, Brian, died by suicide. Proceeds from the walk support mental health programs in local high schools and middle schools.

Halloran said about 200 people had registered in advance this year, but typically 700 to 900 walkers show up the morning of the event.

“That’s well over 4,000 walkers in the last six years,” he noted. “It’s amazing that we are able to maintain this involvement by folks in Pleasantville who are willing to get up out of their beds so early and join us. We’ll keep doing this as long as people keep joining us.”

A similar walk will take place in the Town of New Castle, also on Sunday, June 8, at 4:30 a.m. For the second year, participants will gather at the Bell Middle School parking lot on South Greeley Avenue for the Break the Hold: Into the Light Sunrise Walk. (Check-in begins at 4 a.m.)

Last year, members of the Town of New Castle Committee for Mental Resilience (CMR) reached out to Halloran for guidance and support to launch their first Sunrise Walk.

CMR Co-Chair Akiko Roy said that since New Castle’s inaugural walk, the group has partnered with several local organizations to strengthen mental health initiatives.

“We have been building collaborative partnerships with more groups in Horace Greeley High School, SAAD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Club, Mental Wellness Club and football team,” Roy said. “We’ve kept relationships that we built last year with PTAs, Chappaqua Library, CCSD, New Castle Town and Police, New Castle United for Youth (NCUFY), and, of course, BTH.”

New Castle Town Supervisor Victoria Bayard Tipp said the CMR’s work is essential to creating safe spaces for mental health discussions.

“Their aim is to reduce the stigma and risks associated with mental health challenges, provide resources and education on emotional well-being and suicide prevention, and to build community support and resilience,” Tipp said.

BTH has successfully implemented mental health programs in six Westchester school districts. Known as the BTH 360 model, the initiative centers on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) courses that teach mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and coping skills. The program is now embedded into health curricula in Pleasantville, Mount Pleasant, Elmsford, and Scarsdale school districts.

The model initially funds certified instructors to teach DBT classes before integrating the content into standard health education programs.

“Intervention at an early age gives people a better chance of avoiding life-long mental illnesses,” Halloran said. “Kids are better knowing how to pivot away from anxiety and depression rather than going into it.”

Halloran said BTH schools in Tarrytown and Peekskill will soon adopt the BTH 360 model.

“We also are adding schools in Clarkstown in Rockland County,” he noted.

According to the CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 40 percent of high school students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless. That figure is down from 42 percent in 2021 but remains significantly higher than the 30 percent recorded in 2013.

The survey also found that 20 percent of students had seriously considered attempting suicide, and nearly 10 percent had attempted it.

“There are many reasons why youngsters suffer from depression including social media, isolation and loneliness,” Halloran said. “There’s also the drive to go to college, the application process and pressure from the top to be successful, much of which seems unattainable for our youth. But their real success is being able to take care of themselves.”

More information:

Break the Hold Into the Light Walk
Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 4:30 a.m.
Pleasantville High School
https://bthbreakthehold.org

Out of the Dark Sunrise Walk for Mental Resilience
New Castle’s 2nd Annual Sunrise Walk
Sunday, June 8, 2025 – 4:00 a.m. registration
Bell Middle School Parking Lot
https://www.newcastlementalresilience.org/into-the-light-walk-original