IRON MOUNTAIN -- This year, more than 36,000 Americans will take their life, but an Iron Mountain group is hoping to raise awareness to lower those numbers.

The third annual Out of the Darkness Walk will be September 17 in Iron Mountain.  More than 100 people came out for last year's walk, and that number is expected to grow.

The group is hoping to remove the stigma from suicide by getting people talking about the issue and looking at it differently.

"Our goal is to get people to understand that it is an illness, and we want to bring them out of the darkness and into the light," said co-chair Tina Tappy.

"People are not weak when they make this decision, if you can even call it that," said fellow co-chair Carole Waitrovich.  "It's not much of a choice when you feel that the only option that you have left is to end your life."

The walk is September 17 at the city park in Iron Mountain.  Registration begins at 9 a.m. central, with the walk starting at 1 p.m.