The Winter Solstice event, which is hosted by Survivors of Suicide and Friends, takes place this Friday, June 21.
Those who would rather be there in person can take advantage of a free bus to Albury for the event.
Now in its seventh year, the Winter Solstice offers an opportunity for community members to gather on the longest (and often coldest) night of the year to be ‘‘entertained, enlightened and supported’’.
This year, guest speakers will include domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty, Steve ‘‘Commando’’ Willis and anti-violence and victim support advocate Kathy Kelly.
Survivors of Suicide and Friends founders Stuart and Annette Baker, who attended the Benalla place-based suicide prevention meeting in February, issued an open invitation to the Benalla community to join the event.
Their organisation works to bring the subject of suicide and mental health into the public forum, so it can be addressed without shame or stigma.
Murray PHN suicide prevention coordinator Bek Nash-Webster said the live-stream of the Winter Solstice in Benalla presented an exciting opportunity for other communities to do the same.
‘‘Benalla will be the first community in Australia to live-stream the Winter Solstice outside of Albury,’’ Ms Nash-Webster said.
‘‘We encourage other regions to create and support change by bringing this event to their community through live streaming in the future.’’
Benalla is one of 12 locations taking part in a Victorian Government trial to develop local strategies to prevent suicide.
This work forms part of the Victorian Suicide Prevention Framework 2016-2025, which aims to halve the state’s suicide rates by 2025.
●Information about the 2019 program of speakers and entertainment can be found at wintersolstice.org.au
●Organisers are asking people to RSVP by the end of today, Wednesday, June 19, for either the bus trip or the live-stream event via bit.ly/2wkUNJz
●If you are in an emergency or at immediate risk of harm to yourself or others, phone emergency services on 000.
●Other services include Lifeline on 131314 or lifeline.org.au or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300659467 or suicidecallbackservice.org.au