ROWAN’S WALK: “IT WAS HIS GRANDFATHER’S WILL, FOR THE WALK TO GROW TO HELP AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE”

The communities of Port Hedland and Newman gathered at dawn to raise awareness for those lost to suicide for the annual ‘Rowan’s walk”.

Kyle Baur, 16, Kyle Wilson,14, Levi Gray, 13, James Mahr, 12, and Jayden Mahr, 7 all of who had lost family and friends.

Rowan's walk was started by Rowan Dann while still in high school to commemorate the loss of his aunty to suicide, and to raise awareness about suicide.

Since then, Dann has lost two other family members to suicide, including grandfather Mr Maher in the past two weeks. Rowan’s mother, Revena Maher says it was her father’s will for the walk to continue and grow to help as many people as possible.”

Mr Dann was unable to attend due to the surgery he was undergoing at the time. Rowan’s little brothers and relatives walked in his place including Kyle Baur, 16, Kyle Wilson,14, Levi Gray, 13, James Mahr, 12, and Jayden Mahr, 7 all of who had lost family and friends.

The walk starts from South Hedland and goes for 20km into the town of Port Hedland.

The walk which was expected to expand to the Roebourne and Newman was reduced down to Newman and Port Hedland this year after sorry business stopped the Roebourne walk.

Rebecca Johnson, organiser of the Newman Rowan’s Walk said around 120 people in the community attended the walk starting from Radio hill.

“It’s a really good turn out there is a lot of people present who are passionate about suicide prevention”.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, around 65 000 people attempts suicide in 2018.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ‘Australia’s health 2020 report’, in 2018 3046 deaths by suicide were registered in Australia, which means around 8-deaths per day.

According to this report suicide rates are twice as high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with younger people more at risk.

COMMUNITY RECONNECTION IS KEY

Many people at the walk had also experienced family and friends who had committed suicide.

80-year-old Derby man Ernie Gray and son Justin Gray are both passionate about suicide awareness after losing family members to suicide.

In 2016 Gray’s 57-year-old fostered son passed away after he overdosed on leukemia medication.

In Derby, Gray ran a youth justice program on the Derby speedway where he often ran into kids dealing with suicidal feelings.

His house became a drop-in centre for kids, many of them, Justin Gray’s friends.

Ernie Gray was passionate about the speedway putting in his own money that was going to be used for kitchen upgrades towards the speedway.

“The speedway was more important than the kitchen”.

Through tough times Justin Gray said during his tough times they would try and stay connected to the community by expressing his emotions through playing music and seeing family.

“All our mob is back in Looma, we’ll go back around three times a year”.