Heartbroken mum’s message for any young Australian considering suicide

A MUM, devastated by her son’s decision to end his own life, has made a heartbreaking appeal to young Australians.

A DEVASTATED mum has a powerful message for any young Australian considering taking their own life.

“You don’t get a do-over, guys ... There is no second chance,” says Debra Brumby, whose son Jimi, 13, took his own life last year at a park just a few hundred metres from his home.

The day Jimi died, he had come home and told his mother he had been suspended from school.

Ms Brumby told him off and stormed into her bedroom.

That afternoon he took his own life.

Debra’s son, Jimi McDowell, was a keen footy fan. Picture: Supplied

Ms Brumby’s interview with 7 News comes after three Perth teenagers committed suicide in the space of two weeks.

She is now on a mission to let young people know there is hope, and they shouldn’t give up.

“They don’t need to do this,” says the distraught mother as she sits by her son’s grave.

“All he has done is left us in pieces. I miss him with all my heart, but if he’s up there watching, he already knows and he already knows he made the biggest mistake.

“He’s now here, six foot under, for no good reason.”

She says Jimi had loads of friends, had not been bullied and had not shown any signs of depression.

Her only guess as to why he made such a tragic decision was that he was upset for disappointing her and didn’t comprehend the finality of his actions.

“He was in a moment and in that little moment he made a choice that he couldn’t come back from,” she tells Perth Now.

“There was no build up to this, it was done and dusted in half and hour,” she said.

Mum Debra visits her son's grave regularly. Picture: 7 News

Her son Jimi was the same age as another Perth teen, Alexis, who took her own life recently after bullies called her “ugly” online.

Alexis, 13, has been described as "happy and kind-hearted". Picture: 7 News

Jimi’s clearly distraught mother says she is speaking out because she does not “want any other mum to feel like this”.

Suicide is the biggest killer of Australians aged 15 to 24 — in Western Australia alone this amounted to 54 deaths in 2016, more than one every week.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook tells 7 News that teenagers and parents need to speak up if something is wrong.

“Speak to someone you trust, like a GP or maybe a teacher at a school, but we have to act,” he says.

Ms Brumby agrees, urging parents to act before it is too late, and reach out to support networks if they are worried about their own children.

“Never give up ... if one call fails try again,” Ms Brumby says.

Ms Brumby tells Perth Now that her 11-year-old daughter, Georgie, is the only reason she gets up each morning.

“I’ve got no choice, I’ve got to keep going for this one’s sake. But the flip side is the pain. Because this is now a life sentence.”

If you or someone you love is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

Young people aged 5 to 25 years can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.