On Saturday 3 October, hundreds of people gathered in Wallsend to see the Newcastle Knights off to the NRL Grand Final.
What was meant to be a morning of celebration became something very different when a car struck people in the crowd.
Ten people were injured, including children, and many more people witnessed what happened or were caught up in the immediate aftermath.
If you were there, what you're feeling now is worth taking seriously.
You might feel shaken, anxious, angry, numb or unable to stop thinking about what you saw. You might feel completely fine right now and find things hitting you later.
There isn't a right way to respond to something like this.
Reflex is providing free, short-term trauma support for people who were at the Wallsend Knights send-off and have been affected by what happened.
You don't need to have been physically injured.
You don't need to have seen the moment of impact.
You don't need to know whether what you're experiencing "counts" as trauma.
If you were there and you're finding things difficult afterwards, you can reach out.
We can help you:
This is short-term support, not a commitment to ongoing counselling. You can come to us simply because you're not sure what to do with what happened.
Sometimes the aftermath doesn't arrive all at once.
You might be sleeping badly.
You might be avoiding the place where it happened.
You might keep replaying what you saw.
You might feel unusually angry or on edge.
You might be struggling to concentrate.
You might just feel... different.
Whatever your response looks like, you don't have to work it out alone.
We'll get in touch and talk with you about what's happening and what might help.
You don't need to have the right words.
Just tell us you were at the Wallsend incident and would like some support.
If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
If you need someone to talk to outside our service hours, Lifeline is available on 13 11 14.
Every donation to this appeal helps cover the cost of counselling sessions for people in the aftermath of a traumatic event like this one..
Let's make sure that if someone affected by what happened decides they need support, cost isn't the thing that stops them from reaching out.
$75 helps cover one short-term support session
