For Albury police officer Margaret Saunders, the Big Splash is a welcome, but tough reminder of what needs to be done to improve mental health awareness.
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Wednesday’s annual event will be the third to fundraise for Albury Wodonga headspace, kicking off from 5pm at Albury Swim Centre.
It was founded in memory of Mary Baker, who took her life in 2011.
Ms Saunders said her memory of Mary and dealings with mental illness motivated her to get involved.
“From where it originates out of, and the involvement I have with work and water polo, it’s a three-prong effect for me,” she said.
“Mary was a friend of my daughter’s.
“I dealt with a lot of deaths through my job and, while she wasn’t the first person I knew personally, she was probably the youngest.
“It had a huge impact – it still hurts.”
Ms Saunders said headspace were crucial to reaching young people who suffered in silence.
“Initiatives like headspace are fantastic because they try to catch people before they reach crisis point,” she said.
“Anything that can raise awareness and look after our kids is very important.”
In 2015, $15,000 was donated to headspace and Survivors of Suicide and Friends.
Since headspace opened last year on the Border, 794 young people have accessed the service.
There were 2750 occasions of service provided, leading to an average of 3.6 sessions per young person.
Headspace team leader Joel Nagle said the Big Splash had helped to fund a telehealth equipment.
“Around locally there’s wait lists for doctors, health services, it just gives us another avenue so we can link young people into services.
“It allows us to have more flexibility and have them happening fairly regularly.”
Mr Nagle said headspace had encouraged young people to speak out.
“Hospital set-ups and things like that can be fairly intimidating for young people,” he said.
“The space is ultimately a youth friendly space, so it’s going to lessen the concerns of that young person accessing help.”