World Suicide Prevention Day is held on September 10th each year. It provides an opportunity to discuss suicide prevention openly and respectively. What is really does is allow our community to be brave and to actually say the word suicide.
Kate Legge (respected journalist and author), was the guest speaker on Thursday 8th 2011 at a Lifeline Newcastle & Hunter event to honour World Suicide Prevention Day. She reminded us that it wasn't that long ago that the community didn't say the 'Big C' (cancer) word. We have certainly come a long way with some health issues but sadly, stigma and taboo still exist around the issues of mental health and suicide. By making suicide prevention everybody's business, we too can change attitudes and connect with those in need in our own community.
Suicide is a tough, confronting subject to talk about. It is sobering, serious and saddening to talk about. Understanding when, how, why and who should talk about suicide is important. Being able to go out into our community and provide opportunities for people to explore this complex issue via training programs such Livingworks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, allows for appropriate discussions to occur and for people to learn a valuable life skill in keeping someone with thoughts of suicide safe.
As a community we need to recognise that a person who is vulnerable to the possibility of suicide does not have the emotional resources and support to cope with their challenges. Identifying and assisting those individuals who are vulnerable is an important element of suicide prevention.
We need to be able to connect with those people with thoughts of suicide and those bereaved by suicide, by providing support, appropriate resources, care and listening.
We need to make Suicide Prevention everybody's business
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