Community
30 October, 2026
Hearts designed to spark a conversation
Thousands of hand painted timber hearts have been planted in Moss Vale’s Leighton Gardens – each of them representing a life lost to suicide in Australia last year.
Thousands of hand painted timber hearts have been planted in Moss Vale’s Leighton Gardens – each of them representing a life lost to suicide in Australia last year.
Sadly, there are 3283 of them.
The hearts have been planted to coincide with “Hearts in the Park’ – an annual suicide prevention awareness event organised by the Southern Highlands Suicide Prevention Program (SHSPP).
The event will run in Leighton Gardens from 10am to 2pm on Saturday (October 31) with free coffee, a free barbecue, live music from Angie Surachaijarin and craft activities for the kids with Alice Allsopp from ‘Erratic Ally’.
There will also be a speaker with lived experience of suicide and an ability to learn more about support services such as Lifeline.
This will be the seventh year the event has been held.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in Australia, with more people lost to suicide than who die on Australian roads every year.
In the Highlands, SHPPP is a small, registered charity working towards local suicide prevention and providing support to first responders and people impacted by suicide.
Chair of the charity Carmel Averillo said the painted hands would hopefully “spark a conversation” and safe a life while Saturday’s event would help provide hope and destigmatise suicide generally.
While suicide continues to be a leading cause of death for people aged between 15 and 49, there is growing concern over the increasing number of children and people over the age of 85 taking their own lives.
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