BY JESSICA ROUSE
No one should ever feel like they aren’t good enough. That was the message to the community from four events held by ‘Forever Loved: Together in Healing’ in Muswellbrook.
Muswellbrook’s mental health statistics are staggering. According to the Primary Health Network, Muswellbrook has one of the highest rates of death due to suicide.
Those statistics and a desire to ensure those we lose aren’t forgotten are what inspired De-anne Douglas and Kate Jones to start Forever Loved and host not one but four events across a week.
The Forever Loved Family Support Day at Victoria Park brought together families to honour those who had been lost.
“It was no accident that we ran our first event on Father’s Day. We did that because we gave families the opportunity to come and celebrate the life that their loved one lived,” De-anne said.
Jared’s 9 for 9 Walk on September 9 ran for the second year, after Kate lost her son Jared to suicide.
“We had people walking not only in Aberdeen, but also in Denman, staff from St Josephs at Aberdeen and Cassilis Public School staff and a family friend is walking over in the United States.
“The funds coming in for Lifeline and the discussions being had are so important,” Kate said.
September 11 was R U OK Day. Forever Loved hosted a Men and Their Mates Breakfast at the Railway Hotel to hear from the team at Talk2MeBro, and that night more than 200 guests attended the Legends and Loved Ones event at Hunter Warbirds.
Rugby League legend Wally Lewis was the guest speaker alongside Dr Andrew Affleck from the Australian Sports Brain Bank (ASBB).
“We want people to understand they’re not alone. Men think they have to be the strong ones, the ones that support the family and be the tough role model but that’s not what’s needed,” said De-Anne.
“We need them here, walking beside us.”
“I think the events were everything they were meant to be. The number of people that valued what we were trying to do and came and talked to us was fantastic,” De-anne said.
The four events will be held again in September next year with planning already underway.
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