By Ellen Anderson.<\/p>\n
On November 2nd, the community will gather for the third Suicide Prevention Memorial Walk, organised by the Ararat Suicide Prevention Awareness Group, an event aimed at raising awareness about suicide and offering a space for reflection and remembrance. With startling statistics, like the fact that 1 in 2 young people are impacted by suicide by the time they turn 25, and that 3,214 Australians died by suicide in 2023, events like this walk are vital in encouraging conversations about mental health and providing support to those affected.<\/p>\n
The walk, beginning at 11 am, will start at the Alexandra gardens and include a reflective walk around the lake. Organiser Linda Nyikos explained the significance of the event, saying, \u201cWe meet down at the garden, and we do a reflective walk around the lake. It\u2019s a chance to think about the people you’re there to remember, who have been lost to suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the walk, there will be guest speakers, and this year the community is honoured to have Lelia McDougall Writer and Producer of Just a Farmer<\/em>, who will share her thoughts and experiences. Local minister Father Andrew Hayes will also offer a prayer during the event, helping to set the tone for reflection and healing.<\/p>\n One of the most emotional parts of the day is the pebble ceremony. Attendees are invited to write the names of loved ones lost to suicide on a stone and throw it into the lake. Linda described the ceremony as a symbolic act, saying, \u201cIt demonstrates the ripple effect of suicide.\u201d Along with the pebble ceremony, a memorial board will be available for participants to write messages in memory of those they have lost. For those unable to attend the event, messages can be sent in advance via email to araratspag@gmail.com and will be added to the memorial board.<\/p>\n The event will conclude with a light lunch, offering a moment for participants to connect, reflect, and support one another. Linda emphasised the importance of such gatherings in the region, stating, \u201cIt\u2019s a big issue in our area. We have too many people die by suicide. It\u2019s a nice day to remember them.\u201d<\/p>\n To ensure the emotional well-being of attendees, the organisation StandBy will be present at the event. StandBy provides support after suicide, and they will have trained professionals available if anyone becomes overwhelmed during the walk or the ceremony. Linda also pointed out that the event is open to anyone who wishes to come, but RSVPs are encouraged to help with catering.<\/p>\n In recent years, initiatives like \u201cR U OK? Day\u201d have played a significant role in breaking the silence around suicide and encouraging people to talk openly about mental health. Linda hopes the walk will continue this momentum, adding, \u201cWe hope that our group is putting the idea out there, that it\u2019s okay to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Caterina Di Domenico-Linton, echoed this sentiment, highlighting how mental health doesn\u2019t discriminate and affects people from all walks of life. \u201cIt\u2019s the same as your body health,\u201d she said. \u201cMental health is part of you. You can\u2019t separate the two, it\u2019s all together.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the walk, Nyikos and her team have been organising twice-monthly social nights, a need that became especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. These casual nights provide a space for community members to come together, play games, share a meal, and simply enjoy each other\u2019s company. \u201cThat came out of COVID, because there were so many people who were isolated,\u201d Linda explained. The social nights take place on the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Senior Citizens Hall, with the next meeting scheduled for November 19th at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On November 2nd, the community will gather for the third Suicide Prevention Memorial Walk, organised by the Ararat Suicide Prevention Awareness Group, an event aimed at raising awareness about suicide and offering a space for reflection and remembrance.
\nWith startling statistics, like the fact that 1 in 2 young people are impacted by suicide by the time they turn 25, and that 3,214 Australians died by suicide in 2023, events like this walk are vital in encouraging conversations about mental health and providing support to those affected.
\nThe walk, beginning at 11 am, will start at the Alexandra gardens and include a reflective walk around the lake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[31],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_3994-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdqUu4-Ic","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theadvocate.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}