Hope Walk comes to Whitianga

A Hope Walk along Whitianga’s waterfront on 25 November will be an opportunity to show solidarity and hope for those who have been effected by suicide.

HopeWalk Suicide Prevention Movement is a charitable trust that organises and promotes suicide awareness and prevention events around the country and overseas, including project HopeWalk, Lights 4 Lives and Link 4 Life.

Starting from 9am on 25 November at the Buffalo Beach Reserve in Whitianga, a Hope Walk will continue along the waterfront path to the Whitianga Wharf and back again with the aim of sending a message of support in the battle against suicide.

Local organisers Michelle Lowe and Jodie Haworth say the event is about reaching out in the community and raising awareness of mental health and the heart-breaking consequences of suicide.

“You just don’t know how anyone is feeling and we want to show they are not alone, and that there are people who care,” says Michelle. “It’s a chance to get together and say ‘enough is enough’, that we are losing too many loved ones.”

The pair are working with our Council and will finalise details but have set up a Facebook page called Hope Walk Whitianga upon which they plan to add links for help and information, as well as post updates about the walk. You can also email hopewalkwhitianga@gmail.com

Michelle, who has a background in primary teaching and has worked closely with teenagers at a boarding house in Auckland, says too many people have been touched by suicide and the walk was an opportunity show a message of support as a community to anyone suffering harmful thoughts.

“It’s just heart-breaking. It’s just very dear to my heart and it’s something we want to support.”

The organisation was founded in 2015 with the belief that working together with other likeminded organisations and community groups would allow them to provide a platform for suicide prevention.

It promotes the social media hastags #StrongerTogether #HopeWalk and has walked in 35 places around the world so far this year, wearing yellow – a colour that symbolises hope.

In Whitianga the Hope Walk organisers have been offered generous sponsorship from Whitianga Signs to print t-shirts for free and are planning to purchase t-shirts to sell at cost to participants.

ENDS

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