Suicide is always a difficult subject to consider, however given the opportunity to seek further information more than 40 people attended the final presentation of the Southern Highlands Men’s Health Month on November 26.
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‘Breaking the Silence- Suicide Prevention’ was a presentation by Lifeline Macarthur, a leading not-for-profit that has been saving lives since 1978 and is part of the National Lifeline network.
Lifeline Macarthur CEO Brad Hannagan said there were 3128 suicides in 2017 and that three in four were males. Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 44 years.
He also highlighted “the ripple effect” with at least 10 people directly affected by every suicide. That is more than 30,000 people each year.
Brad then teamed up with Southern Highlands Police Station officer in charge Inspector John Klepczarek, Senior Clinical Manager Tom Traae, Headspace Services for Flourish Australia, Alessandro Donagh-De Marchi (who attempted to take his own life a year after he first sought help) and Ken Barnard who tragically lost his son Aaron to suicide, to take questions from a curious audience. Several scenarios were explored in what was considered a very complex subject.
However, the main sentiment expressed was that this had been another opportunity to open up the conversation in an attempt to break the silence.
Lifeline Macarthur saves lives by providing vital support through - Telephone Crisis Support on 13 11 14, Suicide Prevention, Suicide Bereavement Support, Financial Counselling and Community and Corporate Training.
Wingecarribee Health Association for Men Inc members said they were pleased with the community response to all events they presented during the Southern Highlands Men’s Health Month.
The demand for more information nights has provided WHAM with an enormous boost of encouragement. They have taken on board feedback given on various subjects and will work towards more for November 2019.
