Making suicide prevention a priority

Wesley LifeForce to tackle high suicide rate.

Group manager of Wesley LifeForce Tony Cassidy with president of the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network Ron Peterson, Kev Fancke and treasurer Paul Burke in the Whitsundays this week. Picture: Peter Carruthers

A THREE-day suicide prevention conference will bring delegates from all over the country to the Whitsundays in October.

Convened by the Wesley LifeForce group, the seminar began as a New South Wales-based conference which has now being expanded nationwide.

This year's gathering is in partnership with the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network.

Group manager of the Wesley LifeForce Mission, Tony Cassidy said the conference was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and 150 delegates from 86 suicide prevention networks were expected to attend.

The theme of this year's conference is "disaster recovery” and delegates can expect key note speakers to address that particular topic.

"We really want to focus on not just the short-term, as you get a big influx of support and services, and then the next disaster happens and the support goes and people are left with what they are left with,” Mr Cassidy said.

"All the insurance issues and the clean-up that can really eat away at people and be a risk factor.”

Mr Cassidy said the suicide rate in Australia was high when compared with the rest of the western world.

The suicide rate in the Whitsundays is above the national average.

An open discussion and the presentation of suicide as a national heath issue is part of the mission of the LifeForce group.

The goal of the conference was to connect delegates within the greater suicide prevention network, Mr Cassidy said.

"It's about the networks sharing their strengths and allowing someone else to walk away enthused so they get back home and they want to do more,” he said.

President of the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network, Ron Petterson agreed and said networking and sharing of ideas was but one positive outcome from last year's conference.

"We know the Whitsundays has a high rate of suicide - it's one of the highest in Queensland - our network has been working very hard to do what we can but if people can see that people care and are doing something, it gives hope,” he said.

"To have the conference come here is a big thing for us, because it shows there are people that care about saving people's lives.”