Iris Foundation was proud to host the inaugural River of Reflections event in recognition of lives touched by suicide in the Central Coast community.
A crowd of around 100 local people gathered on the banks of Wyong River on September 9. Many wrote messages of hope, support and remembrance on lighted lanterns, which were then released to float peacefully down the river. The group took the opportunity to reflect, talk together, share snacks and hear from speakers with a lived experience of suicide.
The event was the culmination of Iris Foundation’s annual Tree of Dreams awareness campaign, which centres on the Wyong Milk Factory site. The tree is adorned by hundreds of colourful messages written by the local community in the lead-up to World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10.
Iris Foundation would like to thank everyone who attended the River of Reflections for helping to make it a special evening.
We are also grateful to Wyong Milk Factory, Wyong Roos Foundation, Southern Cross Austereo Wyong Community Bank branch of Bendigo Bank, TrendPac, WebAdjusted and Bunnings Lake Haven for their support.
Suicide Prevention Australia defines ‘lived experience’ as having experienced suicidal thoughts, survived a suicide attempt, cared for someone who has attempted suicide, been bereaved by suicide, or been touched by suicide in another way.