8:30am – 2pm

Our special theme for this year is recalling that we heal when we share the load. To express this – we will be holding an Alongsideathon, starting at 8:30am. During this time – free refreshments will be provided for everyone – including homemade lemonade.

When life gives you lemons – what do you do…..?

In pairs (for 20 minutes, between 8:30am and 2pm), people will walk from the canopy out the front of the Metro Plaza, along the corridor, out the back onto the deck, in through the cafe back door, greet the Encouragers stationed there (who will note your lap-count); out of the front cafe doors, down the corridor, and back again.

Our Encouragers will meet you again out the front and – together – next lap! Each lap will take approximately 1.5 minutes. As you walk together, we encourage you to chat / karakia / waiata / remember – be alongside each other. No running – this is not a sprint – it is to symbolise how – so often – the most powerful and helpful thing that we can ever do is simply this: walk alongside someone when times are tough.

At the end of the day, we will count up the number of circuits (remembering that it is done in pairs), and celebrate the distance covered.

“We heal when we share the load”

Our support concept is always alongside support; awhi-ing someone through the door – and – back again – for absolutely as many times as they need.

A Farewell to the Metro Plaza

This will be our last World Suicide Prevention Day commemoration in the Metro Plaza. Next year, it will take place in our NEW support cafe location! For now we are preparing to farewell the Metro Plaza building, which will be demolished during 2026 as part of our city’s long term development plan.

This year, we will be encompassing preparing to farewell Waimanako 1.0 and the Metro Plaza corridor which has seen well over 100,000 people walk down it, seeking support since our opening. We hope to gather as many people as possible. It might be that this is your last planned visit to Waimanako 1.0 before we move to our new place. There could be no better day to do this.