A free, evidence-based suicide prevention training course is now available to anyone living and working in the Murray Primary Health Network region - including the Edward River and Murray River regions.
Murray PHN is now funding ‘Question. Persuade. Refer.’ (QPR) online training, which takes just 60 minutes and helps people to identify the warning signs of someone at risk of suicide, the confidence to speak to them about their thoughts and the tools to connect them with professional care.
Each year, in the second week of September, two awareness days - World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) on September 10 and R U OK? Day on September 12 – aim to encourage action and promote the importance of good mental health.
This year's WSPD theme of ‘Changing the narrative on suicide’ encourages individuals, communities, organisations, and governments to engage in open and honest discussions about suicide and suicidal behaviour.
By initiating vital conversations, people can help to break down barriers and create better cultures of understanding and support.
Murray PHN CEO Matt Jones says that suicide prevention training helps to create a local safety net, when significant numbers of people in a community are equipped to respond to suicide.
“Sometimes we may feel unsure about what to say or do when someone is acting out of the ordinary or admits they are ‘not okay’,” he said.
“QPR training can help prepare people to have these important conversations.
“The more community members who are trained to understand and identify people who may be in distress, the more chance we have as communities to prevent deaths by suicide.
“QPR training takes only an hour and is particularly beneficial for those who regularly interact with a large range of people, including hairdressers, baristas, bankers and sporting club members.
“My hope is that as many people in our region as possible take up this opportunity and complete the training.”
Deniliquin and district community members participated in a World Suicide Prevention Day lunch and walk on Tuesday, organised by the Deniliquin Mental Health Awareness Group.
Its chair Alison Thorne said the activity was organised to recongise that our community has been and continues to be impacted by suicide.
“As members of Deni MHAG, we would like to acknowledge the people whose lives have been lost to suicide, those who have considered ending their own life and those bereaved by suicide,” she said.
“Mental health, mental illness and suicide really is everyone’s business.
“Increasing knowledge, upskilling the community to help those around them and making sure people know where and how to seek help is important. The work in this space never stops and there is always more to do.
“Raising awareness about mental health and suicide is not just making people aware that it is a problem, but effectively and actively implementing strategies to identify people at risk, and to increase help-seeking behaviours.
“This involves action by all of the community, as we all have a role to play”.
For more information about the MHPN training, and to register, go to murrayphn.org.au/qpr.
• Anyone requiring crisis support can contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. You can also contact the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or suicidecallbackservice.org.au, and resources and pathways to help are also available at www.denimentalhealth.org.au.