It’s Okay to Talk About Suicide

This episode covers a sensitive topic. Before you listen please be aware that we are discussing suicide, the impact of suicide and resources surrounding suicide prevention. John talks with Shayne Connell, the CEO of LivingWorks. LivingWorks is an organisation that has been running for over 40 years and is focussed on suicide prevention. Shane believes in the principles of community development, the LivingWorks training model focusses on training people from within the communities they are working with and using co-design to design their modules. This means that their work is directly tailored for the communities they are working with, allowing these groups to decide what is important for them. At the heart of their work is empowering individuals to have choice over how and when they talk about suicide.

“Suicide is a human condition, anyone can fall into crisis and distress where suicide becomes an option” Shayne Connell

Suicide can effect the community in a multitude of ways, it is a silent killer that can impact anybody. Because of this Shane believes that it is everyone’s responsibility and opportunity to learn the skills to identify suicide and keep people safe. A key takeaway message for me was that suicide prevention training is just as important (if not more) as basic First Aid training in keeping the community safe. So it’s great that LivingWorks is here to walk alongside us and educate the community on suicide prevention. If this topic has brought up anything for you, it’s okay. Look after yourself as best you can. If you need further support: Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

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*Transcript of this interview is also available*