The Macedon Ranges Suicide Prevention Action Group (MRSPAG) is set to host its annual community walk in Woodend, with this year’s theme focusing on shifting the public narrative around suicide.
MRSPAG is a Macedon Ranges-based non-for-profit organisation that combines lived experience and professional expertise to offer services and initiatives that aim to prevent suicide.
The walk in Woodend on Sunday, September 8, aims to raise awareness of this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day theme, ‘Changing the Narrative on Suicide’.
In a media release from MRSPAG, the organisation said that the theme aims to shift public understanding of suicide and “move away from a culture of silence and stigma to one of openness, understanding, and support.”
According to the International Association of Suicide Prevention’s website, this year’s theme also calls for “advocating for policies and legislation that prioritise mental health, increase access to care, and provide support for those in need,” including investing in “research to better understand the complexities of suicide and develop evidence-based interventions.”
MRSPAG’s annual walk is also designed to be an opportunity to reflect on loved ones lost to suicide, to share lived experiences, and to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and promote action to reduce instances of suicide.
The community walk will begin at 10am starting and ending at Woodend Children’s Park. Registrations open at 8:30am.
To request the name of a loved one who died by suicide to be read out prior to the walk, email: suicidepreventionwalk@mrspag.com.au.
Details: https://www.mrspag.com.au/
