CASTLEMAINE Highland Pipe Band secretary Donald Barnett never understood the warning signs of suicide until he lost two colleagues in a matter of weeks.
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Now, he will march with his band at the Span Suicide Awareness Walk to promote understanding about the consequences of suicide.
"We like to support community organisations and we enjoy sharing music but this one is particularly important to make people aware of suicide," he said.
"I personally have had two colleagues who took their own life and the effect on those left behind is just devastating."
He said people should learn to recognise the warning signs.
"It's often in the way they talk - one of my colleagues started giving away their possessions and the other started asking questions about methods," he said.
"It's only until after that the jigsaw falls into place but as a community we should learn to not just hear the words but to really listen."
The walk is on this Sunday at the Dai Gum San Chinese Precinct from 9.30am.
