By BRIDGET SCOTT
WALKERS “painted the town orange” on Saturday to raise awareness for suicide and honour the lives of those who had been lost.
Cathy McNulty and sister Liz Shaw were overwhelmed on Saturday when the walk they arranged for Kooweerup attracted about 200 participants.
The Out of the Shadows walk was a first for Kooweerup, and organised by these two women following the recent suicide of their brother, Steve.
Ms McNulty said it had been “an emotional couple of days” after the walk, overcome by the response it received.
“The support from the community was amazing,” she said.
“We dropped balloons off to all the shops the week before, and they all put them up and we absolutely painted the town orange,”
Ms McNulty reflected back on a moment during the walk, when the participants turned the corner and “looked down the main drag, and all you could see was orange.”
“Awareness is what it was all about, and we absolutely achieved it,” she said.
“You can’t ask for much more.”
Ms McNulty said a number of people also took part in the reflection ceremony following the walk to honour loved ones lost to suicide.
“There were a lot of emotional people,” she said.
While some were taking part as a tribute, others were there in support of friends while some took part simply because they know it is an issue.
Ms Shaw said it came from a “fairly personal place” place for her and sister Cathy.
“We wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t of been for our brother,” she said.
The organiser said she was “taken back by it all”, especially considering the initial planning all took place over social media.
With plans to run another event next year, the pair thanked the Kooweerup community for the support.
“We will absolutely do it again,” Ms McNulty said.
“My sister and I decided, that this is how we would like to remember our brother.”
