SANDRA Moran never noticed the signs of her youngest son’s depression until it was too late.
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Jaie Moran took his life two days after his 22nd birthday in April last year.
He left behind his fiance Jade and eight-month-old daughter Poppy.
“I lost my youngest...we did not get a chance to help him,” Ms Moran said.
In a bid to share her story and help others, Ms Moran made contact with Overdownunder founder Jerry Farsoun.
Overdownunder offers support for people experiencing depression and those at risk of, or bereaved by, suicide.
“We met on Facebook about four years ago, when he first started Overdownunder,” she said.
“It wasn’t until four weeks after Jaie’s passing that I inboxed Jerry again.”
Together the pair will embark on a 36,000km, 308 town, four-month journey to raise awareness of depression and mental illness, with a focus on suicide prevention.
Ms Moran will travel on her motorcycle, with Mr Farsoun following in the Overdownunder bus.
“(Suicide) isn't a single-person battle, it’s a community battle,” she said.
“We want to get the community to start helping out.”
Ms Moran spent the last two weeks travelling from the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne.
Mr Farsoun and Ms Moran began the first leg of their journey from Melbourne to Ballarat on Saturday.
They travelled to Ararat and Hamilton before stopping in Horsham to screen short films about bullying, depression and suicide in an outdoor cinema.
Mr Farsoun hoped to educate a number of people along the way.
After attempting to take his life in 2007, Mr Farsoun began a mission to make a difference in other people’s lives.
In 2008, he travelled around Australia to reduce the stigma and raise awareness of depression in the community, with an emphasis on suicide prevention.
It was after the journey Mr Farsoun realised his passion to help others and launched Overdownunder.
Mr Farsoun and Ms Moran will visit 308 towns across Australia, including Tasmania, between August and November.
Keep up to date with the pair’s movements on via their Facebook page: facebook.com/overdownunder.
Support is available for anyone who may be distressed by visiting:
Headspace.org.au, Lifeline: 13 11 14, Kids Help Line: 1800 55 1800, Reachout: au.reachout.com and BeyondBlue: beyondblue.org.au.
