LIFE News issue 12: community support
Welcome to LIFE News - November 2010. In this edition LIFE focuses on suicide prevention and community support, with a sector comment that provides an overview of the importance of community support in suicide prevention, project profiles of Drop the Rock and Real engagement and linking men in industry, and what's new to the LIFE website. LIFE warmly encourages feedback on LIFE News - please contact us with your comments or suggestions.
Comment: community support and suicide prevention
Above: Alyson Miller
By Alyson Miller
In this sector comment, Alyson Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Crisis Support Services (CSS), discusses community support and suicide prevention. CSS provides a number of direct services available via information and communication technologies such as telephone, email and internet. Alyson has more than 20 years experience within not-for-profit, government and corporate sectors. She has worked in general and mental health, youth services, homelessness, and drugs and alcohol, driven by her passion for people, community belonging, social justice and equality.
The LIFE Framework identifies four main factors that influence someone’s ability to respond to adverse events in their life; one of these is social and community support. At the informal level this means the degree of support available from peers, family and other personal networks (e.g. the workplace or school). At the formal level, community support refers to services that provide direct services to all members of community.
Informal and formal social and community support has the capacity to influence other major factors identified in the Framework such as individual health and wellbeing (e.g. sense of self and emotionally stability) and predisposing or individual factors (e.g. ethnicity/culture, socioeconomic background), by having the potential to create a sense of social inclusion and identity within society.
When someone does not experience a sense of belonging they are less likely to feel that they have the resources to cope and that they are alone in facing the adverse event. Take, for example, the recently reported suicides of young people in the United States whose sexuality identity was raised in public.
Within Australia, there are a wide range of programs that aim to foster a sense that there is support when needed. These services may directly aim to prevent suicide in some way or more broadly aim to strengthen factors that have been shown to protect against the likelihood that someone will come to consider suicide when faced with adversity.
The two projects featured in this issue of LIFE News are in fact examples of suicide prevention programs that focus on direct and indirect suicide prevention. Drop the Rock by providing training and support in community development for those who will then support the remote Indigenous communities in which they live. Real engagement and linking men in industry provides a program of training and support for men working in the building and construction industry. Both of these programs contain components that specifically aim to prevent suicide but also promote health and wellbeing and enhance the sense of community support available at an informal and formal level.
With the increasing accessibility to information communication technologies community support can be accessed in a number of ways: face-to-face, via telephone and internet. Services are able to use a combination of any of the means of communication to provide support, particularly the option of providing 24 hour connections. Additionally, they can maintain online support resources (e.g. psychoeducation, forums, consumer experiences) whilst also delivering individual or group support. Further, as covered in issue nine of LIFE News, communication technologies can be a value add for those who live in rural and remote Australia.
Over the years, my personal and professional experiences have instilled a desire to provide hope and opportunity to others, particularly those who are disadvantaged or marginalised. It is heartening to know that at present, there a number of excellent programs funded by the National Suicide Prevention Strategy that aim to provide direct support to the community (e.g. Community Connections program) or services to those who do (LIFE Communications). When reviewing the 50 current projects it is clear that they address a wide variety of social issues and target groups such as youth, Indigenous, men and mental health. Other issues and groups such as children with parents who have a mental illness and CALD are being addressed beyond the NSPS, and continue to make great inroads into supporting the specific needs of these communities. Thus, taking a whole of community approach, the range of services that aim to either directly or indirectly prevent suicide is tremendous. But as always, more can be done.
The important work being done by agencies such as Lifeline, Salvation Army, headspace, Crisis Support Services and Orygen Youth Health, to name but a few, provide direct support to people in the community on a diverse range of matters that contribute to better emotional health and wellbeing. Considering the breadth of services, organisations and people dedicated this vital work, it is heartening to know that we are all working together to make a real difference to the lives of people in our communities.
Community capacity building and training project: Drop the Rock
Above: Drop the Rock participants
By Natasha Freeman
The Queensland Section of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is currently facilitating a Community Capacity Building and Training Project from its Cairns location. The project involves 18 students from eight remote Indigenous Cape York communities undertaking a Certificate IV in Community Development, with elective topics focussing on mental health, suicide prevention, domestic violence and drug and alcohol issues. The majority of participants are usually employed by RFDS and other health and welfare organisations. During non-study periods participants are mentored by those already working in the field to translate their learning into practice.
Background
This project is a continuation of the previously successful Drop the Rock program which began in 2006, where local Indigenous people were employed as Community Counsellors and Support Workers and provided training in Certificate IV in Mental Health (Non-Clinical). In July 2008, 12 of the 17 participants of the Drop the Rock program graduated from the training and the majority have continued to work in the health/welfare field.
The project is funded by The Department of Health and Ageing, Health Services Branch through the National Suicide Prevention Program, and the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Funds have also been allocated by the Queensland State Government under the Youth Suicide Prevention strategy.
Specific aims
To build the capacity of Indigenous communities serviced by the RFDS in Cape York to respond to social and emotional wellbeing issues, including suicide prevention and intervention.
In undertaking a Certificate IV in Community Development, participants will develop the knowledge and skills to:
- understand the social determinants of Indigenous health;
- identify and provide interventions to address the needs of consumers with mental health and drug and alcohol issues;
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develop locally and culturally appropriate community programs and resources; and
- advocate for their communities.
Incorporated into the training are Indigenous specific tools to address social and emotional wellbeing issues. These include the Indigenous Mental Health First Aid training and Indigenous Risk Impact Screening (IRIS). The course takes a holistic approach, covering a range of topics to ensure that graduates can deliver the most up to date practice in regards to a range of social issues. To participate in the course, the students travel to Cairns from their communities for one week for each of the twelve months that the course runs.
Challenges
One of the key challenges of this program is to provide adequate support to the students to be able to participate in the training course. The communities the participants come from are extremely remote, and many of the students are affected by the very issues which the course aims to address. This means that participating in the training and subsequently applying the knowledge and skills to the workplace is an ongoing challenge for all involved. All aspects of the program, including the delivery of the training, aim to be culturally specific and therefore supportive of family and cultural obligations. It also aims to be supportive of varied learning requirements and encouraging of Aboriginal ways of learning and being.
The program coordinators have seen participants grow in confidence in their work and personal lives, and gain inspiration from the course content, guest speakers, service visits and from their peers. One participant commented “I’m a bit more confident now then (sic) I used to be. I’ll be able to contribute more to where I worked back home”.
Real engagement and linking men in industry (REAL4Mii)
Above: OzHelp out and about
By Brenton Tainsh
The OzHelp Foundation (OzHelp) is a work-based early intervention, suicide prevention, and social capacity building program. The program was first implemented in the ACT building and construction industry; an industry not known for its openness or familiarity with support type training programs; following three suicides of industry workers. The program is built on a vision to enhance the resilience of apprentices and workers in the building and construction industry, while at the same time strengthening the leadership skills and support roles of the industry leaders.
Background
The purpose of the REAL4Mii program is to build the capacity of workers in a range of industries in the Pilbara and Darwin region to promote mental health, and to be aware of the risks and warning signs of suicide and ultimately assist workers identified at risk by helping them access support networks.
The program
More than 1000 workers have participated in the OzHelp training, which includes the following topics:
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General Awareness Training – A one hour session that provides basic information on the myths of suicide and emphasises the need for a supportive workplace.
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SafeTALK – Participants walk away from this three hour course with the ability to identify the invitations of a person at risk of suicide and to link them with specialised support.
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ASIST – During this two day interactive workshop learn to recognise when someone may be at risk of suicide and respond in ways that help increase their immediate safety and link them to further help.
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Workplace Bullying – This session addresses the various aspects of workplace bullying by first defining what qualifies as workplace bullying, and then covers the physical and psychological effects of bullying, and formal and informal avenues to deal with bullying.
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Mental health in the workplace – This four hour session aims to reduce the stigma and myths surrounding mental illness by informing participants of the nature of mental illness including the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and mental illness and identifying sources of help.
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Conflict resolution – This session provides participants with the knowledge to recognise conflict, identify the way they generally deal with conflict and learn to apply skills and strategies to more effectively manage conflict.
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Communication – This session aims to provide participants with the skills required to be effective communicators in the workplace.
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Resilience and assertiveness – This practical session focuses on personal resilience and assertiveness. It emphasises the importance of these concepts in developing and maintaining positive work and personal relationships.
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Managing anger in the workplace – This three hour session is an introduction to exploring and dealing with anger in an appropriate manner. It explores the nature of aggression and the importance for people to develop a greater awareness of their emotions and feelings.
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Work/life balance – This practical module involves significant self reflection and application of time management strategies to the workplace and to maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Participants are also introduced to theories that explore human motivation and the idea that we are all responsible for our behaviour and choices.
As well as receiving training services, approximately 650 workers have been recipients of OzHelp outreach services. These include individual and group discussions in the workplace that provide support for enhancing participants' wellbeing.
The future
In the next twelve months and beyond the REAL4Mii program will continue to deliver the suite of training courses to industry with the hope that even more individuals and organisations engage these services.
LIFE live chat: culturally and linguistically diverse suicide prevention
On November 11 LIFE will be hosting an online chat session with one of Australia’s leading voices on culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) suicide prevention – Associate Professor Abd Malak. A/Prof Malak is currently Director of the Diversity Health Institure and has been contributing to areas of CALD mental health and suicide prevention for the last 30 years, actively participating in policy and management and extensively engaging in research. To register for the chat, email the LIFE team or call us on 03 8398 8422. More information.
LIFE AWARDS 2010
The Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) LIFE Awards are held annually in conjunction with International World Suicide Prevention Day. The awards recognise outstanding contributions to suicide prevention in Australia. The following projects were acknowledged by the 2010 LIFE awards, which were held at the Sydney Opera house on Friday 11 September.
Category
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Recipient
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Business and Industry
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Mates in Construction
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Emerging Research
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Dr Kairi Kolves, Australian Institute of Suicide Research and Prevention
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Healthy Communities
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Lifeline’s Prison Listener Program
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Indigenous
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Billard Learning Centre, Billard Aboriginal Community
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Lifetime Research
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Associate Professor Jane Pirkis, University of Melbourne
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Media (Non-print)
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Danny Lannen, The Geelong Advertiser
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Media (Print)
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ABC TV (4 Corners) – Hidden Voices
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Outstanding Contribution
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Dawn O’Neil AM and John Mendoza
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Public Sector
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The Young Men’s Lifeskills Program (City of Melville)
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Youth
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Alive and Kicking Goals
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More information on the LIFE awards, the recipient programs/people and recipients of honorable mentions for each category can be found by following this link.
What's new at livingisforeveryone.com.au
The LIFE team are always updating the LIFE website. Below are some highlights that are worth browsing.
In the media
A number of recent youth suicides in the US have received international attention, as have the subsequent community responses. These suicides reportedly following bullying about sexual identity and a number of celebrities and key community figures are campaigning for support.
Read news articles about the issue on LIFE’s Reportage page.
GLBTIQ support services can be found on our Useful websites page. Know of some other services not listed? Please contact us.
New NSPS project pages
Profiles of all 50 projects currently funded under the National Suicide Prevention Strategy can now be viewed on the LIFE website three different ways:
Profiles of the formerly funded projects can be found here.
New program evaluation page & resources
Following on from the program evaluation activities that LIFE Communications has conducted this year, the program evaluation page has been updated with simpler information and new resources. We hope to continue adding resources in the future. Please contact us with your resource suggestions.
Live chats
Above: Professor Malak
Since our last issue, LIFE Communications has hosted two highly successful live chats. Jo Robinson responded to questions about suicide prevention with youth, and Alan Woodward on evaluation of suicide prevention programs. The edited transcripts of these are now available here.
Our next live chat will be held on the 11th November on cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) and suicide prevention. We are pleased to announce that the expert for this chat will be Associate Professor Abd Malak. A/Prof Malak has been contributing to areas of mental health, suicide and CALD for the last 30 years, actively participating in policy and management and engaging in extensive research. The live chat will run for 45 minutes from 2:30pm AEDST. To register for the live chat, or if you cannot attend but would like to ask A/Prof Malak a question, please send us an email.
Recent library resources - community support
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"It Takes a Community": report on the summit on opportunities for mental health promotion and suicide prevention in senior living communities
Report of the "It Takes a Community" summit, convened in October 2008 to advance discussion and action to improve the mental health, and reduce the risk of suicide, among residents of...read more
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Collaboration between general hospitals and community health services in the care of suicide attempters in Norway: a longitudinal study
The aim of this paper was to study the collaboration between emergency departments (EDs) in general hospitals and community health services (CHS)...
read more
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Suicide intervention skills and related factors in community and health professionals
Health and community professionals have considerable exposure to suicidal people and need to be well skilled to deal with them. We assessed suicide intervention skills with...read more
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Does deinstitutionalization increase suicide?
Objectives. (1) To test whether public psychiatric bed reduction may increase suicide rates; (2) to investigate whether the supply of private hospital psychiatric beds...
read more
The 13th edition of LIFE News will focus on education and awareness about suicide prevention. LIFE Communications encourages feedback, input and contributions. If you would like to contribute to this edition or have feedback about our work, please contact us.