Matt Hewson
After a two-year hiatus the Suicide Prevention and Awareness Network (SPAN) will once again hold its annual walk to remember loved ones lost.
First held in 2010, the SPAN Walk was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdowns and held virtually in 2021 for the same reason.
SPAN committee member and walk organiser Benny LeFevre said the walk was an important annual event for many people in the region who had dealt with the pain of losing somebody to suicide.
“The walk is about creating awareness of suicide and trying to reduce the taboo that’s around it,” Mr LeFevre said.
“It’s also to create a safe place for those who have lost loved ones to suicide to talk about those loved ones and remember them.”
Recently appointed SPAN committee member Sarah Clarke, who lost her brother Jordan five years ago to suicide, said the walk provided her with an opportunity to feel less alone.
“We’d had our experience of dealing with suicide in our family, but we hadn’t understood how big a community issue it was,” Mrs Clarke said.
“So when I went to my first SPAN Walk and we did the remembrance circle, where you hold hands and they play a song while reading out the names of all the lost loved ones, it was incredibly eye-opening.
“I was able to connect with people I’d known for a long time but had never known they’d lost someone too.
“I was able to create that connection, to not feel as alone. As horrible as it is that other people have experienced this too, it’s good to have somebody you can chat to and know that it’s going to get better.”
The SPAN Walk will be held on Sunday, September 11, and will begin at 9am at Johnstone Park, Geelong. Registration is free at www.trybooking.com/CBNEQ.
