Honouring those lost to suicide and opening a new conversation

By Murray Silby

Aug 29, 2022

In remembrance: Louise Bransden, Gayle Golonski, Emily Watt and Karina Walker prepare for the March Across the Monash in Benalla for World Suicide Prevention Day on Saturday, September 10. They'll carry a banner with the names of people lost to suicide, honouring them and their family and friends. Photo by Brenden Paddock

Saturday, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, and for Gayle Golonski it is personal.

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“I lost two grandchildren to suicide and that’s what motivates me,” she said.

“We’re doing it to raise awareness and remove the stigma.”

Ms Golonski belongs to the Benalla Suicide Prevention and Awareness Network, or BSPAN, which is organising the March Across the Monash, in which participants will walk across the main bridge in town, on Saturday, September 10.

The event, including speakers, entertainment and a sausage sizzle, will be held in the botanical gardens from 11am to 2pm.

“We’ve got a banner made up that people can write messages of love to the ones they’ve lost or messages of support for those who have lost loved ones,” she said.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done something like this and someone came up with the idea of the banner and it makes it more personal. You see the statistics, but when you see the names it means more.

“I think unless you’ve been touched by suicide you don’t understand.”

Ms Golonski said the Walk Across the Monash aimed to encourage people who were struggling to seek help and to provide support to those who had lost someone close.

“Even our little group in Benalla, it’s putting faces to people who have the same feelings as you do,” she said.

“Everyone’s welcome.”

According to Beyond Blue, three million Australians will consider suicide in their lives and each year, more than 65,000 will attempt it while more than 3000 will die by suicide.

The 2022 theme for World Suicide Prevention Day is ‘Creating hope through action’.

“World Suicide Prevention Day is a chance for us to raise awareness of the impact of suicide in our communities and share support for the people that need it,” Beyond Blue said.

Ms Golonski said the marchers in Benalla would remember loved ones lost to suicide, support those who were bereaved by suicide and show solidarity within the community moving forward.

She said it was the first major event for BSPAN, with hopes it would become an annual event.