The community has rallied to support the family and friends of a young veterinary surgeon from Williamstown, in a bid to raise awareness of mental health struggles.
A fundraising campaign, which included a walk attended by 400 people, has raised $26,000 for the R U OK suicide prevention charity in memory of Flynn Hargreaves.
The campaign was started by his friend, Williamstown’s Jack Levitt.
“He was my age – 27 years old,” Mr Levitt said. “He was a qualified vet surgeon … he was living overseas in England and he’d been working over there for about 18 months.
“So, he’d taken his work over there, which he was rapt with and seemed to be really enjoying.
“He obviously had some mental health struggles – some people obviously knew about it towards the end – but he was, like many people, able to hide it and get on with his day-to-day life pretty well.
“Losing someone that I was so close to and went to school with and have known for a long time – we all were just sitting around really thinking: ‘What do you do from here’?”
Mr Levitt also lost a second cousin after Flynn’s death.
“That was just like a double shock,” he said. “Someone else again, young, close to my age, and different set of circumstances, I suppose. But this propelled us even more to raise the awareness that people are all kind of fighting their own fight and can’t do it alone … it even more amplified the fact that you’ve got to look out for people.”
Mr Levitt said he was passionate about raising awareness that veterinarians appear to be at higher risk of suicide.
He said several studies have found veterinarians are up to four times more likely to take their own lives, compared to the general population. Mr Levitt said Flynn’s family had agreed R U OK was a good choice of charity to raise money in his memory.
“There’s an added extra touch – Flynn was also a Richmond supporter and R U OK’s colours are yellow and black,” Mr Levitt said.
To donate, visit give.everydayhero.com/au/flynn-s-walk
Lifeline: 13 11 14
