Our Journey

Journey to the Heart is a 'not for profit' organisation that aims to acknowledge and support those who have lost a loved one to suicide - survivors of a situation that, every year, claims more Australian lives than the national road toll.  By walking alongside them in their hour of darkness, it is hoped that a light of greater awareness will ultimately shine upon the path that they travel and further, remove a stigma that is too often associated with the issue at large.

In 2011, we're walking to Uluru - the spiritual heart of our land. A team of those bereaved by suicide will join kindred spirited fellow trekkers and walk together.

In association with Amanda Flynn Charity Ltd www.amandaflynncharity.com.au , the J2TH team will partner with Lifeline, Deacons, QIMR and United Synergies in organising a journey to metaphorically replicate the gruelling pathway of survivors & fellow travellers – a journey which necessitates the development of personal resilience as well as the capacity to support & be supported by one another. A documentary film crew will capture the journey as, along the way, invited ‘guests’ share the road for a day or two as well as the campfire at night with their wisdom, their stories, their laughter and their music.  The journey will culminate in a healing & honouring ‘ceremony’ in the heart of Australia at its most sacred location.

Main objectives include bringing awareness & inviting an active response to a significant social issue within Australian culture while confronting the historically-entrenched stigma associated with suicide – a stigma that adds another excruciating dimension to the ordeal of the bereaved. A priority of the project is to provide a life-enhancing and grief-positioning experience for all participants.

It is planned that the team will reach Uluru on the spring morning of September 10, 2011 - World Suicide Awareness Day. On that day, people from other places in the world will be invited to make their own walk symbolically from the relative isolation of homes into public spaces where communities can connect and link with one another (one kilometre, ten kilometres – the distance is not so important). What matters is the alignment of intention and access to the solidarity of our collective and representative effort.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS - 2006) on deaths by suicide, 1799 people per year take their own lives. This astonishing figure still accounts for more deaths than road fatalities. It is estimated that for every completed suicide, 10 people are directly affected i.e. 18,000 people per year are left to suffer in relative silence (Wrobleski, 1991). Support is minimal in comparison to what is allocated into the domain of road safety. The very nature of suicide means it incurs feelings of social isolation, shame and stigmatisation in addition to the effort to somehow cope with the loss of a loved one/ friend/ significant other.

QIMR (Queensland Institute of Medical Research) has signalled its enthusiasm for the project recognising the synergy with the J2TH ‘mission’ and its own commitment to enhancing our collective understanding of suicide and its complexities from a scientific and medical viewpoint.

Invitation to participate is open to those touched by suicide. The journey is comprised of various participation levels; the entire trip, stages of the trip, travelling in the support vehicle as an encourager, staging one’s own locally-based ‘Journey to the Heart’ walk from a personal/private place into a public space of significance to meet with attentive others - even sharing the experience vicariously and ‘in spirit’.

Sponsorship (financial & in-kind) will be sought to cover the requirements associated with the adventure – time-off from one’s employer, airfares, support vehicle(s), accommodation, tents, hiking boots, food etc. Fund-raising dinners will be organised in venues both national & international, featuring artists and speakers willing to contribute their talent, their insights and their time.

In addition to the awareness-raising component of the journey and the various mini-journeys, funds will be actively sought and transparently redirected to nationally and internationally accredited suicide prevention training. Programs such as ASIST – Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training – will be used to train ‘everyday people’ to be ‘Suicide Safe’ – enabling them to engage, support and respond to those bereaved by or feeling at risk of suicide. Currently in Australia there are upwards of 50,000 such people. Ironically, it is impossible to identify them.

Our vision is that those trained in suicide prevention will be made visible by the wearing of a clearly recognisable symbol. By their very presence, these trained personnel will remind the everyday citizen of the need to be attentive & responsive while being a visible ‘go to’ point for those in the suicide zone  - a precarious & lonely place familiar to 80% of us, according to research, at some stage in our lives.

In this way, the Journey to the Heart initiative will travel the full circle – from bereavement support to awareness and to prevention. 

If you're interested in sharing any aspect of our journey, please feel free to subscribe to our newsletter, join our Facebook group (details) or contact us on (add email address)

Thank you,The Board Members
Journey 2 the Heart

It is with respect that the project organisers would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are destined to come together and connect upon.

We would like to pay our respect to the Elders, both past and present, who continue to look over these lands and give strength and quality to this ancient and beautiful country. Further, we also pay our respects to other community people, particularly those who have enlightened the ‘spirit of reconciliation’ and assisted the healing of this journey to take place.
Finally, in recognising the strong and special affiliations that local First Nation people have regarding their country and kinships, we will be on familiar terms with cultural protocol understanding and practices, as well as engage within consultation processes where required.