Area residents united to walk in support of mental health during the third annual Westlock Suicide Walk.
Fifteen participants made their way around town along the Rotary Trail July 11 to show support for mental health and for those affected by suicide, and in the process, raised $3,000 for the Mental Health Foundation.
Event organizer Tammie Nikipelo said she began organizing the walk after her son’s suicide in 2010. Their goal is to bring attention to suicide and remove the stigma associated with it.
“It’s five years today that my son took his life and I wanted to get people more aware of it because there’s some stigma against mental health and suicide,” Nikipelo said.
She said events such as the suicide walk have helped change attitudes in recent years, although she said she hopes to continue her crusade.
“I’m hoping if this keeps going I can move to different communities and make people aware,” she said.
Participants from as far as Boyle, where Nikipelo is originally from, came out to Westlock for the walk.
Executive director of the Edmonton-based Mental Health Foundation Ron Laginski was also on hand for the event.
He said such events allow those affected by suicide to remember, as well as create awareness.
“It’s important for two reasons, the first is it’s a memorial in the sense that people can get together and remember loved ones who are no longer with us because of suicide,” Laginski said.
“But also it’s to raise awareness in terms of this is an issue that families need to talk about so that they can confront the issue head-on.”
Nikipelo said the support of having Laginski present on behalf of the foundation was immeasurable.
“It’s huge,” she said. “It just opens it up to people feeling more comfortable to talk about the disease.”
Laginski said suicide awareness has come a long way, but says there is always room to grow.
“We’ve reached the tipping point that in obituaries in papers suicide will be mentioned, or that people are asked to give to suicide prevention in lieu of flowers,” he said.
“That is extremely important because during the mourning period people can recognize there has been a loss due to suicide and we can talk about it openly.”
Over the three years Nikipelo has organized the walk, approximately $10,000 has been raised towards the Mental Health Foundation.
