The Mary O’Gara Foundation have partnered up with the University of Lancashire and Papyrus, a suicide prevention charity, to organise their Hope walk.
The charity, which was set up in memory of the late Mary O’Gara, who took her own life in 2020, will host the walk for the second year running.
The event will take place on Thursday 9 October with a walk to Avenham Park, starting from the University Square.
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In a comment regarding last years walk, Mary’s father, Paul told Blog Preston: “The hope walk last year gave a great opportunity for people to switch off from their daily routines for a while and take a walk with friends, both new and old, to discuss what hope means to them.
It helped discuss how they may at some point have lost hope and how they may have found it again, what helped them to find it again and to share that with others and gives an opportunity to spread awareness around suicide prevention and understanding the part we can all play to create a more suicide safe community.
“The feedback we received was that it was a very powerful experience, that lifted a lot of people and was a day they would remember for a long time to come.
“The walk was very much a feeling of being a community and being involved, and everyone we have spoken to since said they got a lot being part of that community on the day.”
The Fulwood-based father added: “This year’s walk is named ‘The Lancashire Hope Walk’, and in doing this we want to grow this community to spread the message of hope and awareness for other people, and at the same time hopefully better or equal last year’s record breaking number of attendees.”
Nicola Duncan, deputy director of student services at the University of Lancashire, said: “Suicide awareness raising and prevention is a leading priority for us. We’re not afraid to talk about suicide.
“Suicide is the main cause of death in young people under the age of 35 in the UK but no one is immune. At the University of Lancashire we have a dedicated team of highly trained and experienced practitioners in mental health and wellbeing support. They deliver one to one and group support online and in person taking both a proactive and reactive approach.”
Sharon O’Gara said: “Since Mary’s death we’ve made it our mission to raise awareness around mental health and the stigma attached to suicide. Support we’ve received from the University of Lancashire has helped immeasurably in terms of raising the profile of our charity and its aims.
“Paul and I are passionate about the Preston Hope Walk becoming a positive annual fixture in the calendar. It touched our hearts that the majority of people who took part in last year’s inaugural event left with something positive from the experience. I walked with many different people of all ages and backgrounds who I’d never met before and had some poignant and personal conversations which I hope helped.
“Making time to connect with each other is vital and powerful. Just doing something simple like walking and chatting with a group of supportive friends can make such a difference and is the primary objective of our event.”
The University of Lancashire’s mental health clinical lead Julia Hunt said: “Positive mental health and wellbeing is central to life on all our campuses. Looking after ourselves and each other is vital to a healthy and successful university experience and is championed by all our staff and students.
“I’m looking forward to joining the whole Preston community on another hope walk around the city and have my fingers crossed that we add numbers to the amazing 250 participants who took part in 2024. We would love anyone living or working in the city of Preston to join our university community on the Hope Walk.”
The event is open to the general public and is set to provide a platform for support and awareness of suicide prevention to the community.
To sign up to take part you can register via Eventbrite. Registration for the walk begins at 11am and it will start around 12.15pm and last for approximately an hour.
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