By Shelby Brooks
Purple and yellow will flood Lakeside Pakenham on Sunday to raise awareness for suicide and mental health in the community.
Spearheaded by advocate Bobo Davis of the Have a Little Hope, the Suicide Awareness Walk will also make sure nobody feels they are alone during their darkest days – be it those suffering from mental health problems or friends and family members dealing with the aftermath of suicide.
Ms Davis’s world was turned upside down in April 2016 when her 22-year-old son Aaron suicided after a seven-year battle with ice addiction.
What made it harder in the wake of Aaron’s death, Ms Davis said, was a lack of support.
“I couldn’t find anyone to turn to. My biggest avenue now is to give people somewhere to go when they’re absolutely lost and broken. I want to make it easier to find the help… it’s way too hard,” Ms Davis said.
Representatives and volunteers from other local organisations such as ADRA, the Follow Bless Collective, the Salvation Army, Follow Baptist Church and Siri Guru Nanak Darbar will be at the event on Sunday 11 September at 2pm to offer support to the community.
During Covid-19, Ms Davis arranged for purple (for suicide awareness) and yellow (for mental health awareness) balloons to be displayed on people’s mailboxes to show their support during September, which is suicide awareness month.
She said it was time to host another inperson event in the community, after the last one she held in 2017.
“I felt there was a need. I’m so involved in the community I felt we needed to come together to show support. There are a lot of people struggling,” she said.
“The walk will allow the community and organisations to come together and show they care.”
Special princess guests will also be in attendance for the kids.
For more information, head to Have a Little Hope on Facebook.
