STARTLING statistics showing the national suicide rate is at a 13-year high has prompted the Port Stephens Suicide Prevention Network to act.
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Bernie Fitzsimons, president of the Port’s suicide prevention network, said the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on March 8 showed “the epidemic we face as a nation has reached a gut-wrenching high”.
“Our focus at the moment is to train people and give them the skills to help those with suicidal thoughts,” Mr Fitzsimons said.
“We are going to run a course on the weekends, so those who cannot get there [courses] during the week can do so on a weekend. This is one of the ways we are dealing with the new statistics.”
The weekend course, which has not yet started, would be free to attend, Mr Fitzsimons said.
The network’s courses look to equip residents with the skills to see signs of suicide in friends, family and acquaintances, and the best approach to take if they believed someone was going to harm themselves.
Mr Fitzsimons said the training would go some way to tackling the rate at which Australians were taking their lives.
The ABS data showed the nation’s suicide rate rose to 12 per 100,000 people in 2014 – the highest level since 2001, when it reached 12.6 per 100,000.
Suicide was found to be the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15 to 44. The rate for men was nearly twice that for women.
Mr Fitzsimons said the network did not keep a record of the number of suicides that occurred in Port Stephens, but suggested the rate at which it did happen was not as frequent as larger neighbouring local government areas.
The ABS findings has prompted the Salvation Army to call for an overhaul of the mental health care system and an increase of funding into community-based approaches to suicide.
Bill Sayers, national manager of the Salvation Army’s Hope for Life Suicide Prevention and Bereavement Support program, said a “one-size-fits-all” approach to mental health treatment cannot effectively cater for all Australian communities.
“We encourage the Federal government to continue to invest in specialist suicide prevention programs that train, develop and support communities and individuals,” Mr Sayers said.
“Suicide literacy needs to reach every high school, workplace and culturally diverse community. More importantly, these strategies must be owned by local people.”
For help phone Lifeline 13 11 14, beyondblue 1300 224 636, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or MensLine Australia 1300 789 978.
