Walk'n'Talk Wagga returns to promote mental health care and support around the community

For the past three years, he has been saving lives every single month by organising Wagga's Walk'n'Talk mental health check-in at Lake Albert.

"On the last Sunday [of the month], we have a BBQ, chuck out some yellow t-shirts for everyone to wear and we walk around the lake together," Mr Sweeney said.

"The BBQ is a bit of a bribe to get them there, but we encourage people to walk with someone they don't know and as they do, they naturally get to talking.

"You don't have to register, there's no commitment you need to make to being there. Just on the day, if you're up to it, you can turn up."

Events such as these are far from a new phenomenon. There are about 40 of them operating on any given weekend throughout NSW.

A close friend of Mr Sweeney's introduced him to the events, many years ago when he was still living in Sydney.

When he moved to Wagga he decided to bring it with him because, after his son tried to take his own life four years ago, Mr Sweeney has developed an acute awareness of mental health's pain.

"He was just 16 and fortunately, he [was saved] and now he's doing really very well," Mr Sweeney said.

"I couldn't be more proud of what he's done with his life now, but that's the reason I brought [Walk'n'Talk] to Wagga.

"There are so many stories like that. There are so many lonely people and just putting a walk on, they turn and they open up to each other."

It's a similar reason that saw Steve Turner begin attending a couple of years ago.

"For 38 years I was a police prosecutor and basically, I left with PTSD," Mr Turner said.

"I've been to the depths, I know what it's like and I love helping people out of that.

"I managed to get assistance but now I'm keen to help others. There's a lot of people around who need support, and there are a lot of services but not everyone knows where to go to begin."

This year has been extraordinarily hard to keep helping those in need. For the past four months, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the walk has had to be cancelled. Only last month has it returned.

Mr Turner believes it could not have returned sooner.

"We're talking all the time about 'COVID brain' and I think we all have it," he said.

"This has really affected us all. It's affected me, I would have been travelling in Europe at the moment. I have a daughter in Brisbane and a son in Melbourne, but I've learned coping mechanisms. I want to now teach them to others too."

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