Lochaber families take part in memory walk

LAST WEEKEND people from Lochaber travelled to Glasgow to take part in a walk to remember family and friends who are no longer here.

Walk Of Hope is a 5k event which took place on May 6 in memory of people who have sadly taken their own lives.

Joyce Wells, who lost her son Gary in 2014, told the Lochaber

Times: ‘A group of eight of us all affected in some way by suicide travelled down on a LAD (Lochaber Action Disibility) bus which Caroline Watt drove for us.

‘We left Fort William at midnight. On reaching Glasgow we met up with my sister-in-law and nephew who joined us on the walk.

‘We walked from the darkness (starting 4.15am) into the light, so anyone feeling low and in a dark place knows there is hope and help out there.’

The event was organised by Chris’s House (the centre for help, response and invervention surrounding suicide), the first 24-hour non-medical crisis centre in Scotland.

Mrs Wells added: ‘Some of our group collected sponsor money for walk.

‘My husband Maurice and I are celebrating our ruby wedding anniversary on May 20 and we are asking all family and friends who are celebrating with us to make a donation to Chris’s House rather than buy us a present.

‘At the moment the group has collected more than £1,000 in sponsor money and we will add our donations on to that as well.

‘We would like to thank LAD for use of the bus, Caroline Watt for driving us, and to everyone who has donated to this very worthy cause. If we can raise awareness and let people know help is available and prevent someone committing suicide it makes it worth it.’