Jo-Anne Shanks taking steps forward for Run for MI Life, mental health awareness in Mackay

After losing her brother to suicide in 2012, Jo-Anne Shanks was determined to find a positive in the devastation. Nine years on she is making a difference through the Run for MI Life.

Jo-Anne Shanks could not be more proud of her late brother’s legacy, as she prepares to host more than 1000 runners at her charity event.

The founder of Run for MI Life, an event born from Matthew Ivory’s suicide in 2012, wanted to turn the “devastation of the loss” into “something positive” in the mental health conversation.

Ms Shanks said it was amazing to see the change of attitude surrounding mental health conversation in the nine years since Matthew’s death.

“If you cast your mind back to 2012 there was not much conversation around suicide or mental health, there was a lot of ‘sweep it under the rug’ attitude still around,” she said.

Jo-Anne Shanks at the Run for MI Life promotion in 2019. Picture: Contributed

“Right now, talk around suicide is one of the very good things that has come from Covid, mental health and suicide prevention is now a whole separate industry of people working to save lives in this space.

“With such uncertain times we’re going through people are really struggling, but hopefully with more conversation and destigmatisation, more people seek help.”

The run is just one part of the day, with Run for MI Life providing counsellors and documents to help those struggling on the day.

Ms Shanks said there would also be a ‘memory wall’.

“The memory wall will provide people to write out a message on a coloured ribbon for someone they’ve lost to suicide,” she said.

“You can imagine it is quite an emotional thing for people to do, but there aren’t many opportunities for people to express that grief openly.

“We’ll have support staff there for people who are struggling with that because it is quite a confronting moment.”

With Covid an ever-present factor in decision making, Run for MI Life organisers were unable to plan too far ahead with fears of potential cancellation.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the event, Ms Shanks said

“At any given moment we could be cancelled, but people are really excited to attend the event and be a part of something so positive,” she said.

“We usually get about 1000 people at the Walkerston event, and between 200-300 out at Moranbah, which is fantastic, but we’re really not sure how many we’ll get this year because of Covid.”

Western Suburbs Leagues Club in Walkerston and the Moranbah Leagues Club will host the two events on Sunday, October 17, with the run to start at 6am.

Hastings Deering, where Matthew was employed before his death, has the naming rights of the event this year and will have more than 50 employees walk together.

Registrations for the event are still open on the website.