DONATION buckets have been placed in various shops around the city as part of Suicide Awareness' "Bricks for Life" program and shoppers are being encouraged to donate their loose change in order to raise funds for a safe house at Griffith Base Hospital.
"The idea of the project is to build a 24 hour safe house for low-risk patients from all across our region on the grounds of Griffith Base Hospital," said President of Suicide Awareness, Val Rowe.
"We have brickies, an architect, builders, electricians and pest controllers who have all donated their labour for free to get it built," Ms Rowe said. "And all the tradesmen are getting onto their wholesalers to get the materials at cost price."
The buckets will be in various shops around town and shoppers are encouraged to put their change into the buckets.
"Our local supermarket Rossies Foodworks have come on board and maybe some of the major supermarkets will bring the buckets in as well," Ms Rowe said. "The quicker we raise the money, the quicker it will get built."
The donation buckets will be around Griffith for the next few months before moving to Leeton, Hay and Hillston.
"With mental health such an issue across the whole of Australia, it's time the government stops sitting back and worrying about so many other things when mental health is such a devastating health issue, putting families in turmoil and nowhere to go in their time of need. So come on Griffith get behind the buckets." Ms Rowe said.
Story by Grant Gaynor, The Riverina Times, April 27 2006.
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