Journey to Hope Walk 2018: Hope, Healing and Honoring
Journey to Hope, Moose Jaw will be hosting its annual Hope Walk on Saturday, September 22 at Crescent Park Amphitheatre starting at 10:00am.
The Hope Walk supports suicide awareness and prevention, providing hope, healing and honoring those who have lost their lives to suicide.
Della Ferguson, facilitator and spokesperson for Journey to Hope, says the
Walk brings awareness in the community and allow persons to reflect on and honour their loved ones who have passed. The Walk began 10 years ago.
“The Journey to Hope Walk began in
September of 2008, after some members approached me from the Survivors of
Suicide Grief Support Group for those who have had a loved one die by Suicide, a group that I facilitate through
Jones Funeral Home. They wanted to raise funds and awareness for Suicide
Prevention,” said Ferguson. “Their hope was that no one would ever experience the profound pain of grief that they had.
Since that time, we have been hosting fundraising Walks and raising awareness for Suicide Prevention. We work in partnership with the Canadian Mental
Health Association in Moose Jaw, and have Committee members from CMHA, as well as Mental Health and Addictions, the schools, Moose Jaw Pride and individuals from our community impacted by suicide. It is a mission of their heart, focussed on Hope.”
Ferguson says the Hope Walk is important for several reasons. She outlined: “It brings together people impacted by suicide, helping them see they are not alone and there are others who understand; it honours the memory of those who died by suicide; it shows those who struggle with mental health challenges that the community desires to ensure there are resources to support them; it raises vital funds to train people and raise awareness and promote resources and it breaks the silence and the stigma by our public gathering and speaking out on suicide and more.” She added that each year people give great feedback on the event and how impactful it has been on their lives. “Each year people have used words such as ‘powerful, inspiring and meaningful’ to describe their experience at the Journey to Hope Walk. They often say how courageous the speakers are and how their stories impacted them. Some people who have attended have then joined our committee to help with the work and some have come with amazing ideas of ways we can further impact our community through community endeavours.”
For this year’s Walk, Ethan Brentnell, a talented high school student will be the musical guest.
The program will also include Nicholas Hennink, a local Paramedic who knows the reality of PTSD. He will be sharing his song “Home” that he produced with Jared Robinson of Nebulus Entertainment, as well as sharing some of his story. There will be a reflective walk through Crescent Park and much more.
The event also serves as a fundraiser. Persons are encouraged to purchase Raffle tickets for: The Ray Bell Memorial Raffle for the prize of an autographed George Reed Rider Jersey and the Gord Aitken Memorial Raffle for a beautiful Butterfly Quilt created by Joyce Aitken.
Tickets are available through Journey to Hope Volunteers or contacting Della at Della@wjjonesandson.com. You can also purchase a case of BC Peaches for 40.00 (8.00 goes to Journey to Hope). These are available by contacting Lianne at nektt@sasktel.net.
Get Pledge Forms available at journeytohope.synathasite.com. Starting August 1st, you can go to South Hill Fine Foods to purchase a Soles for Hope for a Toonie.
Journey to Hope will be hosting their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th at 6 pm at Crescent Park Event Centre at 262 Athabasca St. E. Everyone is invited to attend.