In the early hours of Saturday 10th September, as part of Suicide Prevention Week, Moray Wellbeing Hub CIC hosted Moray’s first ‘Walk of Hope’ in Lossiemouth.
Twenty-one folk from across Moray walked from the new Lossiemouth footbridge across the sands to see a glorious North Sea sunrise together. With participants ranging in age from 7 to 70, there were tears as well as laughter as the group marked those they were remembering and thinking of on the day.
“The weather smiled on us!”, Shared one participant at the event, “It was good to see so many people and hear them sharing their experiences, and for me to share a bit of mine.”
Once the group walked for a time, gently chatting and sharing, they paused to write in the sand names as well as words that shared what they were thinking about at this time. “I loved being able to do something with others, showing hope and that no-one is alone. I especially loved the writing in the sand activity.”
The optional sharing included stories of loss as well as hope from those living with suicidal thoughts, from those family members left behind after suicide, and the sharing helped others to do so as well as hold space for silent reflection. A minute’s silence at dawn was observed and the sense of connection was powerful. The youngest attendee brought joy with their skipping on the beach and the inclusion of a few dogs was another support for hope too.
After the walk and connection chats, many retired to the previous Lossiemouth Youth Café space where Lossie 2-3 group treated everyone to a cuppa and pancakes donated by the local Co-op. Some of the reflections shared included “Relaxed and powerful event” “friendly supported space” “ I appreciated the calm and the sharing of life events”.
Within the participants were Champions from Moray Wellbeing Hub who offered their skills as mental health first aiders for the event as well as attending for their own wellbeing. Joining them were representatives from the North East Suicide Prevention Team and the Highland based support line Mikeysline, who are now open to supporting people in Moray through their text line.
The event was made possible with funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, made possible by National Lottery players, and aimed to remember those lost to suicide, express solidarity to those living with suicidal thoughts, and raise awareness in a positive and inclusive way. It was just one of a range of events that local organisations, including Health & Social Care Moray, SAMH, NHS Grampian and Police Scotland, organised in partnership. All were hosted and co-designed together with individual personal experience. This included an Act of Remembrance from at Elgin Town Hall on Tuesday 6th, Suicide Prevention Skills Training on the 12th, as well as the launch of the annual Moray suicide prevention survey and a creative competition to design messages of hope.
For those still keen to get involved the survey and creative competition around creating hope are still open for contributions through Moray Wellbeing Hub website, and there are courses on suicide awareness upcoming from the North East Suicide Awareness Team.
Heidi Tweedie, Social Movement & Enterprise Lead at Moray Wellbeing Hub, was delighted at how the event went, “Personally, and on behalf of Moray Wellbeing Hub, this event could not have gone better. Everyone contributed and created a safe space with hope and connection. It was wonderful to have other organisations join us, and for me as someone who has their own experiences of suicidal thought and lost others to suicide, the impact on my wellbeing has been positive too. I can’t wait to see what we can manage next year, hopefully more walks across Moray to give more people the chance to join in.”
For those keen to have their views and ideas on how we can prevent suicide in Moray an online survey and creative competition is being promoted to gather ideas.
If you are concerned about your own challenging thoughts or want to be prepared to support someone you care about, a local app is available to support with all the links including how to create a safe plan. This can be downloaded from www.preventsuicideapp.com
