A thousand empty shoes set out for suicide awareness

Local suicide awareness campaigner Paula Tavai with a picture of her son, Donny Ngaro McGregor. Photo/File

Almost 600 pairs of empty shoes will be laid out in Rotorua on Thursday to symbolise each person who was victim to suicide in New Zealand last year.

The Shoe Project is laying out 579 pairs of shoes in different cities around the country over the next two weeks, before ending up at the stairs of Parliament on Sunday, September 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day.

The project, run by YesWeCare.nz, is in a bid to urge the Government to hold an urgent mental health inquiry and set a suicide prevention target.

The Rotorua event will see locals affected by suicide sharing stories and speaking about the change they want to see in the country.

Rotorua event organiser Paula Tavai, who lost her son Donny Ngaro McGregor to suicide in 1994, said the week will take on extra significance after yesterday's revelation that last year 606 people died by suicide last year - the most since records began.

"Oh my god, 606. It's been obvious to me for two years... It's heartbreaking."

She said on September 10, she and others who have lost a loved one to suicide will gather at the lake to release 579 balloons in remembrance.

"For everybody else, it's a day gone by - for us, it's not."

New Zealand has the second worst suicide rate among those under 25-years-old.

She said she didn't think the stigma of suicide and mental health has fallen away and people were more open to discussing it.

"There are a lot of people who are not ready to become involved."

Ms Tavai said the Government needed to listen more widely to people with ideas on how to combat suicide, especially to those who have lost a family member or loved one.

In a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said youth suicide has "got to be the top priority".

"We just can't have young people with their whole lives ahead of them taking their lives. It's an absolute tragedy."

Weeks before, a Government suicide reduction target was scrapped over fears it would be held accountable if the rate didn't drop.

The event, "579 shoes for suicide awareness", will take place at the Rotorua Lakefront on Thursday, beginning with laying the shoes out around 9am, before speakers will begin around midday.

Where to get help

If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
Or if you need to talk to someone else:

- LIFELINE: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
- SUICIDE CRISIS HELPLINE: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
- YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633
- KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
- WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
- DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
- SAMARITANS: 0800 726 666
- OUTLINE: 0800 688 5463 (confidential service for the LGBTQI+
community, their friends and families)