World Suicide Prevention Day: Changing the Narrative on Suicide
The World Health Organisation’s theme for World Suicide Prevention Day Changing the Narrative on Suicide invites us to be open about suicide to talk and share with each other, it also asks us to think about how we might create a world where people can connect with each other, lead meaningful and purposeful lives and live in peace. It is this call that creates a movement for change.
Changing the narrative on suicide prevention can take many forms. Across the globe, there are a variety of gatherings and events on World Suicide Prevention Day. Many focus on challenging stigma and discrimination - all will involve people coming together in one way or another. At the heart of true suicide prevention is connection and human kindness.
There were some wonderful opportunities for connection this week in Cairns.
Out of the Shadows Walk
In Cairns, World Suicide Prevention Day began with a dawn gathering truly coming “Out of the Shadows” from the Healing Gardens on the Cairns Esplanade. Life hosted a group walk with songs, reflections, remembrance, a smoking ceremony with Henry Fourmile and warm-hearted generous speakers.
Thank you to speakers Community Chaplain Daniel Gela and Bernard Sabadi from Deadly Indigenous Youth Doing Good for sharing. The morning was wrapped up with a breakfast BBQ courtesy of the Lifeline volunteers and as always the StandBy team were there to offer extra support.
Black Dog Institute Training
From there, we went for a deep dive into all things evaluation with the Black Dog Institute.
This training was hosted by the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network alongside community groups and other individuals determined to make a difference.
It was important to understand there is no need to get scared by evaluation.
Life Promotion and Suicide Prevention FNQ Collaborative at Billy’s Cafe
It was a fairly vibrant coffee and conversation at Billy’s on Sheridan Street a couple of weeks ago. It was the perfect opportunity to connect and explore ideas concerning the key themes developed through the Collaborative work and outlined in the ‘One-Pagers’ summaries exploring Racism, Stigma and Discrimination, Education, Access and Systems. The timing is perfect as the group can use our information to offer feedback to the draft Advice to the National Suicide Prevention Office which was released for public consultation this week.
"The FNQ Coffee Catch-Up was a great morning with an incredible turnout, showcasing the strong community engagement and collaborative spirit of our stakeholders. It provided a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, engage with stakeholders, and meet new faces, while keeping the momentum and discussions alive around our collective efforts as organizations and our individual commitments to suicide prevention in our communities."
