Community to rally around vital local support service

A CHARITY lunch to support local people and families bereaved by suicide will make a long-awaited return this month.

Hope Bereavement Care and The Freemasons Geelong will again partner to deliver the Support After Suicide Charity Luncheon on September 5 at the Geelong Regional Library and Heritage Centre.

It will be the first time the event has happened since 2019 due to a four-year COVID-19 absence.

Businessman, philanthropist and past managing director of Toll Holdings Paul Little will be keynote speaker, with 3AW reporter David Mann will be MC.

The event will also involve a presentation from a person sharing their own personal story of suicide bereavement.

Hope is an entirely community-funded service that seeks to ensure no one in the Geelong region walks the path of grief alone.

The coming charity event to serve as a major fundraiser for Hope and enable its continued expansion to provide more support across the Geelong community.

The Support After Suicide program has been delivered since 2017 in partnership with Jesuit Social Services and supported by the Freemasons Foundation Victoria.

In the 2022/23 financial year, the service supported 444 Geelong individuals and families grieving after suicide of a loved one, across 942 counselling sessions and 41 separate suicide bereavement support groups.

The program also provides education and capacity-building for community members to support those bereaved by suicide.

For more information about Hope Bereavement Care or the Support After Suicide program visit bereavement.org.au

Tickets for the 2023 Support After Suicide Charity Luncheon are available through TryBooking: trybooking.com/CJNLC