Ride4Lives suicide prevention week president encourages holistic community involvement

Gladstone’s Mark Brookes has watched mates and family members struggle with mental illness. So he decided to take action.

For Gladstone’s Mark Brookes, suicide prevention hits close to home.

He has watched mates and family members struggle with mental health issues, and sadly has had to say devastating final goodbyes to some.

So, he decided to take action and together with other committee members, worked to create the week-long Ride4Lives event which features workshops, fun runs and seminars in a bid to break the stigma around suicide and prevent further deaths.

Ride4Lives' Suicide Prevention Week activities schedule.

“It started off when we had a lot of FIFO workers in the town and the suicide rate at that stage was very, very high,” he said.

“To create a bit of awareness, education and social connection the suicide prevention week came out of that necessity for the community.”

Mr Brookes said participation in the week’s activities, which run from September 9 to 16, was important for a number of reasons.

“There are quite a few men in our industries and community that have struggled and died by suicide,” he said.

“Some of them were my friends, some of them were family members and all other things beside statistics.

Lynette 'Neddy' Nobel, Ken 'Grumpy' Nobel, Meg Anderson and Dean Ballard get ready for Ride4Lives suicide awareness ride at Gladstone Marina February 29, 2020

“It was very important in this area to help reduce the suicide rate and reduce the stigma around it also.”

Mr Brookes said in a lot of communities people struggled talking about suicide or lacked knowledge on how to counsel someone contemplating suicide.

“Having those activities every year around suicide prevention week only adds value to the community and makes it more suicide-safe,” he said.

Nate Turner, Damo Martin, Craig 'Rider' Johnston, John 'Barra' Munday and Ian 'Feathers' Peacock get ready for Ride4Lives suicide awareness ride at Gladstone Marina February 29, 2020

For more information visit the Ride4Lives Australia Facebook page.