Afterglow 2023 shines light on suicide prevention, introduces new acts and family activities.

Excerpts from article…

ST. ALBANS — Cover bands straight from the ‘80s, face paintings and food trucks abounded at the Hard’Ack Recreation Area on a beautiful Saturday night for the Afterglow Music Festival. 

The event, now in its fourth year, was founded to “shine a light” on suicide awareness and prevention through fundraising for local organizations, including Northwestern Counseling and Support Services, the Vermont Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and more. 

In between acts, local speakers also took to the stage. Wells and Holzscheiter were joined on stage by mental health specialists like NCSS emergency services program manager Tony Stevens, who spoke on Afterglow’s work in getting rid of stigmas around mental health. 

“What this family and the Afterglow Foundation has done to start these conversations and keep them going is truly amazing; to create an event like Afterglow that increases awareness, decreases stigma, and makes suicide something that’s ok to talk about with our kids, our friends, our families, our neighbors, our coworkers,” Stevens said. 

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Afterglow 2023 shines light on suicide prevention, introduces new acts and family activities | Local News | samessenger.com