A call has gone out in Norwich inviting people to carry the world’s only known physical symbol of mental health, ‘The Baton Of Hope’.
‘The Baton Of Hope’ was devised by a suicide prevention charity as a parallel icon to the Olympic torch – but one that celebrated mental rather than physical wellbeing.
The national event will see the Baton carried across the UK and Norwich was one of the successful bidders chosen to host a one-day leg of the tour. A range of events will take place in addition to the Baton procession.
Suicide survivors and those bereaved by suicide are being offered the chance to help carry the baton in honour of their own survival or in memory of a loved one lost.
It will be the UK’s largest ever single suicide prevention initiative. A similar event in 2023 included 12 locations; this year’s will feature twenty.
Words cannot express how we feel about the importance of highlighting the long-overlooked issue of suicide. It is the biggest killer of men under 50 and women under 35 and there has been no improvement in the statistics for 17 years.
Bringing the Baton of Hope to Norwich will raise awareness significantly and help smash the stigma surrounding suicide – a stigma which prevents so many from asking for help.
Ian Dallas, Outreach Deputy Director for Norwich Samaritans, the charity behind bringing the Baton of Hope to Norwich
WANT TO BE A NORWICH BATON BEARER?
Apply to carry the Baton via the Baton of Hope website
Baton Bearer holding the Baton of Hope during it's 2023 tour