IT RAISED $25,000 in 2014 for headspace Miranda and put youth mental illness firmly on the agenda.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
The Step Ahead Walk from Wanda Reserve to Boat Harbour, Kurnell, and back, is on again from 10am to 2pm on World Mental Health Day, Saturday, October 10.
The walk was established by the family and mutual friends of Richelle Turpin and Nadia Di Michele, who lost their lives to mental illness last year.
Young mother Richelle, of Menai, was 26 when she took her own life in March, 2014.
Her sisters Brooke, 23, Hayley, 25, and Samantha, 17, established the Step Ahead Foundation to raise money for headspace Miranda and bring more awareness of youth mental illness.
Brooke Turpin said funds raised through this year's walk would go to headspace Miranda and Caringbah YMCA's Youth Brightside program.
Headspace Miranda provides free early intervention services to people aged 12-25.
Brightside is a referral only program for children aged 12-16 who may have ongoing mental health concerns.
It has been created to give participants the opportunity to train their bodies and develop appropriate language and social skills.
There will be plenty of family-friendly entertainment, music, activities and food at Wanda throughout the day.
Hog's Breath Cafe at Cronulla is among the local businesses supporting the event.
Richelle Turpin was six months into a five-year care plan with a psychiatrist when she died. She had a son, 8, and was busy planning her wedding.
Suicide is the biggest cause of death in young people in Australia.
