Community
1 November, 2026
With loss comes love and hope
That was the key message from the guest speaker at this year’s ‘Hearts in the Park’ remembrance day in Moss Vale for Australians lost to suicide.
With loss comes love and hope.
That was the key message from the guest speaker at this year’s ‘Hearts in the Park’ remembrance day in Moss Vale for Australians lost to suicide.
Rayen Martinz from Campbelltown lost her brother Salvador Cordero-Derza to suicide 14 years ago and bravely shared her story with people in Leighton Gardens on Saturday morning.
Her 13-year-old son Bailey Wilson Martinez – who sadly never got to meet his uncle – stood by her side and recited a poem he wrote two years ago about the uncle he never knew.
Mrs Martinez said it was easy to “relive, reconnect with and recount the massive void” her brother’s death had left in her life.
“To feel the hurt, sadness, anger, grief, betrayal, heartache, injustice and disbelief this very dark September day left in my life.”
But she said her brother’s passing had also left something that was often unspoken about: “hope, peace, gratitude, a new transformed energy, faith and above all, love”.
Mrs Martinez said her personal journey over the past 14 years had been one of “massive chaos, turmoil and conflict”.
At times she has felt she has taken one step forward “and at least 50,000 back”.
“My body, my heart and my soul have had to adjust to a new reality and a new way of living,” Mrs Martinez said.
“Different. It’s the one word that sums up my life, my journey, my experiences before my brother’s passing and after my brother’s death.
“Different. Everything is different.
“Everything is forever changing, shifting and evolving. Not necessarily good and not necessarily bad, just different.”
Mrs Martinez gave thanks for ever having known her brother at all and for the gifts and the love he had brought into her life “and (that he) continues to bless me with even to this day”.
“I hope my brother is always remembered for the man he was, for what he poured out, invested in, and who he was at the core,” Mrs Martinez said.
“I hope we forever celebrate his life and never minimise his existence to his last final act or the tragic way his life was cut short.”
She thanked him for his wisdom, his strength, his encouragement and determination.
“Thank you for moulding me into the person I am today and for allowing me to learn to be a better person by realising who and what is truly important in life.”
‘Hearts in the Park’ is an initiative of the Southern Highlands Suicide Prevention Program (SHSPP) with 3283 hand-painted hearts planted in Leighton Gardens to mark the occasion.
Each heart represented a life lost to suicide in Australia last year.
SHSPP chair Carmel Averillo said the number of hearts planted next year would hopefully be “significantly lower”.
Mrs Averillo thanked all the volunteers who had dedicated their time to make this year’s event possible and who continued to “fight the fight”.
She encouraged local residents to check in with someone they know – or with a complete stranger – and to ask how they are travelling.
“Everything makes a difference.”
Mrs Averillo said the success of Saturday’s event wasn’t about attendance but the fact it was bringing people together to have a conversation, and for that reason alone she was “thrilled”.
All photos Stuart Carless.
--------------
Subscribe to The Southern Wire Newsletter for free at the link below.
https://subscribe-forms.beehiiv.com/1986abc6-c89e-4781-9db2-cf35c9dd71e4
If you value independent local journalism across the Highlands, Tablelands and Wollondilly, please click the link below to support us to ensure we remain paywall free.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Moss Vale