Annie Green

After Suicide Took My Husband: Why This Challenge Matters

Thank you for taking the time to visit my fundraising page. Before I ask anything of you, I want to share the why behind this challenge — because it comes from the deepest, most painful place in my life.

On the 20th of October 2025, my beautiful husband Matt died by suicide. He was just 45 years old.

It was completely unexpected. One minute he was here, part of our ordinary family day. The next, he was gone. I stepped outside to call him in for dinner, and my world shattered.

Matt was deeply loved — by me, by our two teenage daughters (14 and 15), by our community, and by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He was the guy with the big smile, the easy laugh, the one who lit up a room and made people feel welcome. The life and soul of the party. His loss still feels impossible to comprehend. It doesn’t make sense, and it probably never will.

In the wake of his death, the impact on our mental health has been devastating. Grief has changed everything. Our daughters, in particular, are trying to navigate a reality that no young person should ever have to face. Watching them struggle has reinforced something I now know to be painfully true: support, education, and early intervention around mental health are not optional — they are essential.

If help is accessible early enough, it can change the course of a life.

That is why I am committed to raising funds for 20talk. If supporting an organisation like this can help start conversations, raise awareness, provide education, and ultimately save even one life, then this challenge is worth every step, every effort, every uncomfortable moment.

This journey is also personal in another way. It is my opportunity to find quiet space — time to sit, reflect, breathe, and begin to process what has happened. To look inward. To search, gently, for moments of peace in the midst of loss.

Thank you for listening to my story. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to anyone who is able to donate — no matter the amount. Your support helps 20talk continue their mission to provide evidence-based mental health education that truly resonates with young people.

If this challenge helps keep even one family from experiencing the pain we now carry, then it matters.

Thank you for being here.

Challenging myself to heal

In order to raise funds for mental health charity 20Talk, I'm going to take on the challenge of sitting in a 2 metre square box for 20 hours with no technology and no talking. This challenge will be a small look into the day of someone struggling with mental health. All I will have is my own thoughts, a journal and a chair to sit on.

So why am I doing this?

In October last year, my husband died by suicide. No one saw it coming. We have all been touched in some way or another by the reality of mental health. It can be dark, lonely, and confronting.

Structurally, the statistics are still alarming..

• Suicide still remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-44.
• Only 2% of mental health funding goes towards prevention (Mental Health Commission 2022)

I'm completing the 20 Hours for 20Talk to turn these statistics around. Your contribution goes towards 20Talk's relatable prevention campaigns. They are a mental health charity that makes education cool and accessible, for young people by young people.

Your generous donations go towards:

• Every $120 puts a young person through a one day Mental Health Maintenance cours
• Expanding 20Talk's online resources and 60,000+ social media community
• Running large-scale interactive mental health events

By improving mental health literacy, removing harmful stigma, and encouraging professional help-seeking we are preventing people from getting people into crisis in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and for donating to the cause. Hopefully this small challenge can help change someone’s life.

If you ever need to chat, I’m always here. Love you all and thanks again!