By Olivia Snyder
The Haldimand Press
DUNNVILLE—On Sunday, September 10, 2023 residents donned bright yellow T-shirts and proudly marched four blocks from the True Experience office in Dunnville to Central Park to commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day.
Since 2017, True Experience, a not-for-profit organization providing mental health supports in the community, has hosted the annual World Suicide Prevention Day Walk through town. True Experience staff and clients, joined by community members and supporters from as far as St. Catharines and Welland, walked to raise awareness for mental illness and suicide prevention. Meanwhile, good fellowship, delicious food, hopeful music, impactful speeches, and a quiet candle lighting ceremony awaited the walkers at Central Park.
While barbecuing hot dogs and waiting for the walkers to arrive, Sharon Arnold, True Experience’s Program Coordinator, explained that the organization has a three-fold approach to mental health support in Dunnville: supportive housing, a community work program, and social recreation. It became clear throughout the evening that all three branches of the organization are ultimately about the same thing: coming together to find support through sharing the good moments and struggles.
The event’s four speakers each emphasized this theme of simple connection. John Ellis, supervisor of Haldimand’s Community Paramedic Program, commented, “It’s amazing how just talking to someone makes a huge difference – just visiting and being there with them.”
True Experience Residential Support Worker JJ Arnold encouraged listeners: “If you see someone struggling, just take the 10 minutes to sit down and talk with them. You don’t know how impactful that can be.”
Executive Director Rhonda Geyer, gazing around the park full of her team members, neighbours, and family, reflected that “people are so caught up in their own lives, but if you just slow down for a moment and look around, there is always someone who needs a kind word.”
Later, in her welcome speech, Geyer summarized what attendees were saying with their actions that evening: “This evening is about hope.… It’s about support for a community.”
Music was an irreplaceable piece of the event. The songs connected people, helping to create the atmosphere of hopeful community Geyer described. Kerry Parsons of Wellandport, who volunteers her time and audio equipment each year, worked diligently to create a welcoming environment. Classics like Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” and Bill Withers’s “Lean on Me” had people humming, singing, and dancing as they ate and chatted together. Haldimand County’s Deputy Mayor John Metcalfe commented on the music in his speech: “When you’re in a good mood you hear the rhythm, but when you’re having a tough time of it you hear the words.”
Just as important as the music was the silence. At the end of the evening, True Experience staff distributed tea lights and asked everyone to gather near the bandstand. Several community members took turns lighting a seven-wick candle in memory of people they love who have lost their lives to suicide. Finally, a moment of silence gave space to remember and be still.
Words from JJ Arnold’s speech echoed through the park: “I quickly learned how much of a ripple effect my actions can have on other people.”
The people who walked on Sunday night show each other every day how their care, actions, and lives are important to our whole community.
