Destani, hope and messages of love

Destani Davies knows what it’s like to feel hopeless – and why it’s important to show people that, no matter what your mind might be telling you, hope always exists.

That’s a message echoed by Loganlea’s Hope Stairs on Loganlea Road, a Council-driven project that features brightly coloured messages of hope, submitted by residents of the City of Logan.

The Hope Stairs opened in October – and Destani, one of the people behind the original idea, was there to cut the ribbon.

Destani started the Solitude Project in 2019, after hearing about 6 Maori men losing their lives to suicide.

She ran 10 kilometres a day for a year to help raise awareness for those suffering in silence and brought an idea to Council for a Hope Wall. The wall  remains part of a bigger future plan, and Destani says seeing the Hope Stairs was a wonderful feeling.

‘These messages are incredible, and we hope they are read by people who need to see these words,’ Destani says.

The phrases include ‘you are loved’, ‘it’s ok not to be ok’, ‘you are needed’ and ‘have hope, this too shall pass’.

‘The thinking behind it is that the families of people who take their own lives are always left with things unsaid they wish they had said.

‘It is not a burden they should have to carry – but now they can take those words and turn them into something powerful.

‘This is somewhere they can say the things they wish they had said, and  somewhere very visible for people who may really need those messages.

‘To see these stairs come to life is so emotional and I really have to pinch myself. If they save one life, that is incredible – that is a family that stays together, and a community that doesn’t lose someone.’

There are 8 messages on the stairs, selected from 50 which were received via community engagement.