Wicomico Co. Health Dept. to host second annual Color Run Festival

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – What started out as an idea to bring the community together, is now an event that’s on its second year of cultivating an environment, where people can stop the stigma surrounding mental health.

Coordinator of the second annual Color Run Festival, Jessica Taylor, said the event encourages families to come together to engage in conversations surrounding suicide awareness.

“I just thought that it would be a great way to engage families, but to also be able to spread a positive message, a dear message, that we need to shatter silence and have a conversation to help people who are in the darkness,” Taylor said.

Hosted by the Wicomico County Health Department, the event meets community members right where they are, providing vital resources to those who need mental health support.

Taylor said it helps bring the department one step closer to getting people the help that they need.

“Maybe some people don’t even know all of the resources that are available in our community, so we really need to take our abilities in our departments, and our messages out to them, making sure that we touch them in whatever capacity,” Taylor said.

There can be many different outside forces that can contribute to mental health hardships. That’s why Ph.D. Registered Psychology Associate Under the Supervision of Dr. Samantha Scott, Heather Brown, said that events like the Color Run Festival help open the door to further conversations.

“Are they struggling financially? Did they just lose a job? Have they just lost a relationship? How are their relationships with others? Are they strained do they feel support,” Brown asked.

Running two years strong, Taylor hopes those who attend walk away knowing that there are people out there who care, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone going through a hardship.

“We can have support there, to let people know that you’re not alone, and they’re going to feel like we’re more alike than different, and we’re in this together,” Taylor said.

The Color Run Festival, Run for Wellness and Suicide Prevention will be held Sunday, April 21. It runs from 10AM-1PM at Kylan Barn in Delmar, MD.