A TRIVIA night at Bendigo's MacGillivray Hall on Friday hopes to address why talking about suicide is considered taboo.
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The brainchild of four Bendigo TAFE students completing Certificate IV in community services - Kat Evans, Lindsay Stagg, Rae Logan and Jack Singleton - the trivia night will raise money for Bendigo's Suicide Prevention and Awareness Network (SPAN).
The group approached SPAN about three weeks ago for the school project and quickly got it off the ground.
The group, along with Hope, Assistance, Local Tradies (HALT) co-founder Jeremy Forbes, met at The Good Loaf on Tuesday to finalise the night's events.
SPAN began in Bendigo in 2011 and puts on an annual Suicide Awareness Walk - this year's March event saw about 500 people walk to remember those lost to suicide and to prevent more lives from being lost.
Ms Stagg said Friday's trivia night, which aims to further raise awareness about suicide prevention in an informal way, would raise money for SPAN to buy a barbecue so it could host more fundraising events.
"(The) aim is to get people to talk about suicide, it’s still such a taboo topic. But if we talk about it, and can even help one person, that's what the night is about," Ms Stagg said.
MacGillivray Hall, on McCrae Street, had kindly waived the hall fees for the night and others had donated several door prizes, she said.
She said the trivia would start at the hall at 6.30pm, would feature teams of 10 per table and, while there were about eight tables available, the more the merrier.
Importantly, to fit in with SPAN's objectives, the event would also be a "dry event", Ms Stagg said.
SPAN central Victoria co-ordinator Alannah McGregor said the trivia night would help promote the SPAN name and bring people together about an important topic.
"This is something people can go to and have a bit of fun and be open about why they're there," she said.
"It's also a good opportunity to talk about suicide issues at an event not necessarily just health professionals only."
Tickets to the night cost $20, with children 14-and-under free.
To pre-book a table, phone Mr Singleton on 0456 796 415, Ms Evans on 0423 790 820, Ms Stagg on 0419 439 455 or Ms Logan on 0421 819 120.
Tickets are also available on the night.