Suicide Prevention Awareness

Hi, my name is Kate Manera and I am running the Dunedin Half Marathon in order to raise awareness and break the negative stigma surrounding suicide in New Zealand.

Many of you will have experienced the loss of someone to suicide or know someone who has lost someone. Unfortunately for my family this has happened far too many times. Most recently and the most impactful for me personally was in 2016 when my cousin Kodi tragically took his own life at the young age of 14. To put the words 'Kodi' and 'suicide' in the same sentence would have been unthinkable, but now the Pearson family are trying to get their heads around the events that lead to 11th July 2016.

I have chosen Life Matters Prevention Suicide Trust to donate my funds to.

They offer safeTALK suicide prevention workshops, provide bereavement support in the form of online private groups (nationwide and international) and also a group that meets twice a month in Dunedin. They have also just opened up a Hope Centre on Albion Place in Dunedin where volunteer staff offer support to people battling to access mental health care and make sure they get the help they deserve.

606 people died by suicide in New Zealand in the 2016/17 year according to provisional annual figures from the Office of the Chief Coroner. One death is too many.

Any donation, little or big will make a huge difference in helping spread the awareness.

It's not weak to speak, reach out if you're struggling, check in on your mates and lets break the stigma!

Thanks in advance,

Kate.