Remembering Rainbow: LGBTIQA+ memorial for World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention Day is an opportunity for LGBTIQA+ communities and our supporters to unite in action toward preventing suicide, show our support for LGBTIQA+ people who experience suicidality and to remember those in our communities who have sadly died by suicide.
Ceremony and ritual are woven into the fabric of LGBTIQA+ histories. At Switchboard, we know the power of collective spaces to come together in the face of loss and pain to generate hope through action.
This year, we are inviting our community to pay tribute and remember the lives of our LGBTIQA+ loved ones we have lost to suicide by participating in a Remembering Rainbow Memorial.
Event information
Where: Collingwood Town Hall, 140 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford, 3067
When: Thursday September 10th, 6PM – 8PM
Who can attend: Anyone who would like to honour LGBTIQA+ lives to suicide. You may bring along anyone you would like to have with you to be part of this evening.
Event Activities
6pm – 7pm
Share in space with other LGBTIQA+ people who are bereaved through suicide and those who are supporting our communities take action toward preventing suicide and honouring folks we have lost.
We will have activities available on the evening, including embroidering / sewing the names of LGBTIQA+ people who have suicided on colourful ribbons for the Remembering Rainbow. We will have volunteers guiding craft activities and offering help – no prior craft experience is required.
You may wish to attend simply to be in a LGBTIQA+ space, drink tea and coffee and connect with community. You are welcome to use our community space as you need.
7pm – 8pm
Hear from LGBTIQA+ lived experience speakers share their reflections on loss after a suicide, as well as Frankie Siegerma from Aftercare and the Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities, Joe Ball.
A memorial ceremony will be held where we tie the ribbons on the Remembering Rainbow, inviting people to say the names of LGBTQIA+ folks they are remembering.