SPAN to walk again for suicide awareness

HOPE Bereavement Care will again help mark World Suicide Prevention Day with the SPAN Suicide Awareness Walk in Geelong’s city centre this weekend.

This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day falls on Tuesday, September 10 and the Geelong-based Suicide Prevention Awareness Network (SPAN) – auspiced by Hope Bereavement Care (Hope) – has been holding its Suicide Awareness Walk in conjunction with the occasion since 2010.

In Geelong, SPAN will hold its walk this Sunday, September 8.

The walk is a positive and active family and community event where people who have been directly or indirectly affected by suicide can come together and pay tribute to lost loved ones. The event is free, but donations are welcome to support Hope’s Support After Suicide service, delivered in partnership with Jesuit Social Services (JSS), which seeks to ensure no one in the Geelong region walks the path of grief after suicide alone.

The 2024 Suicide Awareness Walk will feature a performance by Bella Lear Ivy Parkinson, performing a song Ms Lear wrote about the death of her brother Jonah at the age of 18 in late 2022.

Ms Lear said she liked to think her song, ‘Wrong Life’, reflected “life with someone and the feeling when they are no longer with you”.

Hope executive officer Salli Hickford said the organisation was grateful to have the pair performing the song at their event.

“It’s an incredible piece of music and writing that I think captures the ongoing love we have when we lose a loved one to suicide, and it’s a beautiful tribute to her brother.”

Suicide is the leading cause of death for both adult males and females aged 15-44 years in Australia.

The walk is organised and run by volunteers with a living experience of suicide bereavement, while several community organisations are also involved in the event.

Local Freemasons will again provide marshals to assist those on the walking route from Johnstone Park and back through central Geelong, with Barry Plant providing printing and signage and Barwon Water a hydration station.

The Hope and JSS Support After Suicide program provided support during the 2023-24 financial year to more than 200 Geelong-region individuals grieving after the suicide of a loved one.

Last year’s SPAN Suicide Awareness Walk drew almost 400 people affected by suicide, who came together either at the event or virtually to pay tribute to lost loved ones and offer support to others.

This year’s SPAN Suicide Awareness Walk begins at 9am with a remembrance ceremony held before the walk itself, and a barbecue for participants at Johnstone Park afterwards.

Registrations can be made online by heading to trybooking.com/CTCWO

For more information about Hope or the Support After Suicide program, head to bereavement.org.au, phone 4215 3358 or email [email protected]

If you’re looking for someone to talk to immediately, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) are available to talk 24/7.