2017 Pride of Australia Award

Jon Benham, Black Dog Ride's Territory Coordinator, has been honoured for his work with Black Dog Ride by winning the NT Pride of Australia Medal for his selfless, tireless actions which have enriched the lives of his community members.

In 2016, Jon's hard work and dedication increased participation in Black Dog Ride's Darwin 1 Dayer by over 60%, giving Darwin arguably the highest per capita participation rate in Australia, a poignant figure given the NT has double the suicide rate of the rest of the nation.

Since then, Jon has embraced every opportunity to utilise his role with Black Dog Ride to engage NT locals with awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.

Jon said it was humbling to win the award."It's taking away the stigma and creating conversations, this is the first step to making a change," he said.

Black Dog Ride is proud and grateful that Jon's work with Black Dog Ride and his dedication to suicide prevention has been honoured at a national level.

Congratulations Jon!