The Walk With Us Remembrance Walk was a reminder that suicide can affect everyone.
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To a crowd of about 50 people at the Old Bega Racecourse on Wednesday, founding member of the Bega Valley Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) Jenny Keioskie said statistics showed 80 per cent of Australians know someone who has taken their own life.
Also, for every death to suicide around 30-50 people are directly impacted.
At the event, Bonney Hull walked for her sister Courtney, who died in tragic circumstances six years ago.
“I feel like I’m too old for my age,” she said.
“I didn’t want to be. I always wanted to be treated like everybody else, but was treated very differently by my peers.
“It’s a really hard one – on top of losing someone you love, people don’t understand you also don’t understand why it happened.
“Courtney was such a special person, everyone absolutely adored her.”
Bonney, 22, said it really hit her when she turned 20 - the same age Courtney was when she died.
“The pressures of life are a big impact on young people and I could understand it when I left school and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” she said.
For a long time after she started university she did not tell anyone she had a sibling. But now, Bonney thinks mental health problems are not something to be ashamed of and she encouraged people to speak up if they were suffering.
“The thing I’m bitter about is the stigma around mental health, it’s just treated so differently from other deaths,” Bonney said.
On the day, two students at Bega High School - Sophia Puccetti and Samantha Harrington - volunteered to help SPAN.
“We have both struggled a lot so it’s something very close to us,” Sophia said.
The Cobargo resident said at school, many students avoid talking about suicide as it is a tough subject.
“It’s not mentioned in class as it can be touchy for students, but I think it should be mentioned more,” the sixteen-year-old said.
“There definitely needs to be more support groups at school, you see a lot of people who are suffering but you can’t do anything about it.”
“Someone can be screaming for help on Facebook or something, and it gets pushed aside,” Wandella’s Samantha added.
When asked what to say to someone struggling with suicidal thoughts Samantha, also 16, said to tell them that even if it is just reading a sentence in a book there will always be something to live for that makes them happy.
If you feel depressed call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.beyondblue.org.au.