And with Thursday officially declared World Suicide Prevention Day in Moose Jaw by Mayor Fraser Tolmie, the hope is awareness and progress in preventing suicide will only become stronger as time goes on.
Part of that plan involves seeing more and more people learning through online resources and Journey to Hope’s continuing work — with their recent 'Getting Loud for Mental Health' campaign taking things further and further in a positive direction.
“This day and this entire month, we spend a lot of energy trying to inform people and provide resources, encourage people to become trained and offer opportunities to people to share their stories,” said Della Ferguson with Journey to Hope.
The Getting Loud campaign came out of a meeting with an individual who said they were struggling and weren’t sure of the resources for mental health and suicide prevention in Moose Jaw. They were unaware of Journey to Hope and their ongoing work, which led to an important realization for the charity.
“That told me we weren’t being loud enough,” Ferguson said. “So we needed to get louder, and that person has come on board and helped us get loud.”
In addition to increased advertising around the city and a strong social media presence, the group officially launched a new project on Thursday.
Journey to Hope member Nicole Hebert has headed up a program where participants can be interviewed or submit videos talking about dealing with mental health challenges and suicide, with the idea of helping others see they aren’t alone.
“This is one of things, the storytelling breaks the stigma and breaks the silence,” Ferguson said. “So the more we talk about it, the more we normalize it and people see they’re not alone in their struggle, there are ways to reach out and it’s okay and good to reach out.”
Some videos have already been filmed and were posted on World Suicide Prevention Day, and anyone interested in helping with the project can reach out through Facebook or contact the organization through their website.
Journey to Hope also has a series of free online courses that can be found on their Facebook page, including an hour-and-a-half education program on suicide awareness and prevention from LivingWorks Start along with the Tattered Teddies course about suicide in children and Straight Talk about preventing suicide in youth.
Then there’s the Make Froats Row fundraiser that will be entering its third year and will take place on Sept. 19, featuring local athlete and coach Dawn Froats taking to a rowing machine and covering 100 metres for every $10 raised. Last year the event brought in $9,100.
And then there’s the event the organization is named for, the Journey to Hope itself.
This year the event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Crescent Park amphitheatre, beginning at 10 a.m. with music and raffle sales, the ceremony from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and reflective walk through Crescent Park at 11:30 a.m.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions masks will be required and pledges will need to be turned in prior to the event as cash will not be handled the day of.
For more on the Journey to Hope, be sure to follow their Facebook page and website for more updates closer to the day of the event.
