World Suicide Prevention Day provides an opportunity for our community to gather, to remember, and to heal. Each year the WRSPC hosts an annual World Suicide Prevention Day event, encouraging anyone in our community to join together. While the event is centered around acknowledging those whose lives have been touched by suicide, it is also about providing mental wellbeing education and resources to everyone in our community and providing a gathering space where individuals can feel connection and belonging.
This year, we are pleased to announce that we will be hosting our annual World Suicide Prevention Day event in collaboration with the Kitchener Public Library. This event will take place Saturday, September 10th from 2:00-4:30 pm. We will also be sharing part of our event virtually, on our Facebook page.
Our in-person World Suicide Prevention Day Event will start off with our annual Wellness Fair that will be taking place on the main level of the Kitchener Public Library from 2:00pm – 3:30pm. We will also be hosting some Yoga led by Jayne Hembruff in the green space next to the library at 2:00pm. Our Community BBQ will also be happening in the green space next to the library from 2:00pm-3:30pm. We will be welcoming guests speaker to share with us from 3:30 – 4:00 pm, followed by a Butterfly Ceremony*.
Don’t forget to sign up for your free at-home activity kit. Please submit your request for your family kit by August 26, 2022 at https://buff.ly/3Oybd7g Pick up locations will be offered in Waterloo and Cambridge.
Please come and join us as we work to promote hope, help and healing in our community.
*In an effort to be mindful of our traditional and meaningful ceremony, as well as the environmental impact, we are modifying the butterfly release this year. Over the past several years, WRSPC has been firmly rooted in our commitment to growth; to having important conversations, and most importantly, to listening. There are many experts in butterfly biology and conservation who agree that outdoor butterfly releases may have potentially devastating effects. Just as we would hope the community would see WRSPC as experts in our work, and listen to our voices, we must also be open to listening to the voices of other experts. We recognize and understand this shift may be difficult; we have, as a community, welcomed butterflies as our guests for many years, and have been grateful for the opportunity to host this meaningful ceremony with our community. This year, we will be introducing a new butterfly ceremony that will still provide an opportunity to share your hopes and wishes in an interactive and meaningful way, as guests will receive seed paper butterflies that can be planted to serve as a tangible symbol of hope, growth and remembrance.
There are links to resources below which have guided our decision if you’d like to read more.
Butterfly Releases: An Unwise Practice – Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory
https://www.naba.org/releases.html (North American Butterfly Association)
