‘Difficult to frown while wearing fluro’: Coffs suicide prevention event gathering momentum

Fancy finding a fun weekly tribe? What about a surf or swim in fluro? In recent months, a colourful crew has met at Jetty Beach, Coffs Harbour to do just that. Here’s why.

Brian Clarke and Dominique White are regulars for Fluro Fridays at Coffs Harbour’s Jetty Beach.

When Dom White goes for a swim at the Jetty Beach in her fluro gear on a Friday morning she’s not alone.

She is joined by others and some of them even take a surfboard to catch some waves while wearing their fluro gear. Why you might ask, do they don fluro gear and hit the water?

Some of the Coffs Harbour Fluro Friday tribe Ian South, Nick Newling, Dom White and Tegan McVey, at the Jetty Beach.

The group do it for salt water therapy. And it’s all part of the soul nourishment of getting together with the Fluro Friday tribe to improve mental health, combat loneliness and for suicide prevention.

Anyone can join the crew but for many people, like Coffs Coast Suicide Prevention volunteer Ms White, they have a lived experience of suicide.

“Fluro Fridays is like a touchpoint or a touch stone,” Ms White said.

Fluro Fridays at the Coffs Harbour Jetty help people connect for improved mental health and to ease situational distress.

“It’s this one constant in my week that I can look forward to and I know I’m going to see some shiny, bright costumes and faces there,” she said.

“It’s just a magic recipe when you put some bright stuff on, you can’t frown when you’re wearing fluoro.

The group, which was started with support from Lifeline, has been meeting every Friday morning in Coffs Harbour for twenty weeks.

Fluro Friday meets at the northern end of Coffs Jetty Beach every Friday morning from 6:30-8:30 am.

With Loneliness Awareness Week beginning on August 5, there’s no better time to join and you might just shake off those winter blues.

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