Airdrie residents are encouraged to come out to Nose Creek Park on Oct. 10 to pay tribute to children who have taken their own lives as a result of bullying, at a candlelight vigil that will be held at the parkís amphitheatre starting at 8 p.m.
The event is being held in conjunction with World Mental Health Day, a worldwide event that was first celebrated in 1992 and is now observed in more than 150 countries around the world.
The Airdrie water tower will also be lit up in purple on the evening and those who attend the vigil will be releasing purple balloons in the air as a message of hope and support to those who have been affected by mental health issues.
Tara Murphy and her daughter Mackenzie will be hosting the vigil; Mackenzie is an advocate against bullying and stated the ball rolling for Airdrieís recently passed anti-bullying section of the Cityís Public Behaviour Bylaw.
ìWe have local children that will be reading out the names of seven youths who took their lives,î said Murphy. ìMackenzie chose the children we would be paying tribute to and we wrote their tributes that will focus on their lives and their legacy.î
This is the first time an event like this has been put on in Airdrie, and Murphy says that it is not only about paying tribute to those who have passed but to raise awareness around bullying and mental health issues.
ìWorld Mental Health Day is a huge, worldwide event and mental health and bullying go hand in hand,î said Murphy.
ìThere is a negative stigma out there about mental health issues and weíre trying to show that these were just regular kids and that mental health issues donít need to have this bad stigma.î
