QLD: Big crowd at White Wreath service

AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2000
QLD: Big crowd at White Wreath service

BRISBANE, April 19 AAP - Hundreds of people took part in a memorial service in Brisbane
today for Australia's suicide victims.

Organiser Fanita Clark, whose son committed suicide nearly 12 months ago, said governments
were not doing enough to combat the problem.

"We hear all the time about the dangers of drink driving, or prostate cancer and things
like that, but we hear very little about the disastrous effects of mental illness and
stress," Mrs Clark said.

"It is important to remove the stigmas associated with suicide and to make governments
and the public understand the victims are not just statistics but dearly loved family
members."

Statistics show suicides easily outnumber road fatalities as the cause of death in Australia.

The national road toll last year was 1731, 952 below the suicide rate.

Today's memorial was the second of its kind in Australia following the inaugural White
Wreath Service in Canberra last November, attended by government leaders including the
Prime Minister.

At today's service, 2683 white wreaths bearing photographs and the details of the victims,
were laid out in King George Square as a memorial to the 2683 suicides in Australia in
the past 12 months.

Mrs Clark said she had been "inundated" with requests to hold White Wreath Memorial
Services around Australia, and the next location would be announced soon.

AAP geb/jhm/jtb

KEYWORD: WREATHS

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