R U OK? Day and World Suicide Prevention Day both happen nationally today reflecting a united effort across Australia to promote meaningful conversations and prevent suicide in our community.
“Today we want Tasmanians to not only ask their friends, family or colleagues if they are okay, we want them to continue to ask the question and encourage others to do the same,” said CEO of The Mental Health Council of Tasmania (MHCT), Connie Digolis.
Today, for World Suicide Prevention Day, a National Research Action Plan for Suicide Prevention is being released by Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) outlining a planned framework to prioritise suicide prevention research in the future.
“The MHCT support any initiatives that will directly assist in suicide prevention. The release of the National Research Action Plan, and the development of Tasmania’s new Suicide Prevention Strategy and Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy is a significant step toward increasing the community’s capacity to respond to suicide.”
“Whilst we have a number of fantastic suicide prevention organisations in Tasmania, it is clear that more investment and resources need to go into this area. MHCT, as part of the Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Network, will continue to work closely with the state government and all stakeholders to ensure we are working collectively to reduce suicide in our community,” said Ms Digolis.
The National Research Action Plan is available at: www.suicidepreventionaust.org
Advice on how to report sensitively and accurately on mental health and suicide can be found at: http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media
• Also see below our own ‘Thanks for Asking’ video letter as part of RU OK? Day
https://vimeo.com/138698769
Catherine Delpero
