THE Border Mail’s Ending the Suicide Silence campaign is a category finalist at this year’s Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
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The campaign is one of three finalists in the Coverage of Community and Regional Affairs category. The awards will be announced in Canberra next month.
Former editor of The Border Mail, Heath Harrison, is a finalist in a second award category — best three headlines.
The Ending the Suicide Silence campaign was launched by The Border Mail on Saturday, August 4, as a week-long campaign telling the stories of those affected by suicide, examining the mental health system and lobbying for services and support.
It soon focused on an associated bid by the region for funding for of a headspace centre for Albury-Wodonga, involving a butterfly campaign and Facebook page.
Editor of The Border Mail Di Thomas said lobbying for the headspace centre had continued this week, with a rally by secondary and university students on Wednesday highlighting the feeling such a centre was needed.
“For more than a year we deliberated as to how we could tackle suicide, something we knew was shattering lives in our community who had lost loved ones, or who were dealing with the tremendous burden of mental illness among their friends and within families,” she said.
“We will always be grateful to those brave people who told their stories.
“We want to continue this campaign until our region wins funding for a headspace centre.”
The Walkley Awards have attracted more than 1300 entries.
“Being named a Walkley finalist is testament to the skills and talent of our newsroom,” Thomas said.
The winners will be announced on November 30 at a gala dinner at Parliament House Canberra, which will be broadcast on SBS.