‘We need to keep suicide prevention front of mind, and dig deep into the well of hope.’ says Flourish Australia CEO Mark Orr AM. Flourish Australia’s immediate response to an increase in the number of Australians dying by suicide last year has been to make a large commitment towards suicide prevention.
Staff members like Sue O’Rourke are undertaking an intensive two-day training course in suicide prevention called Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), developed by Living Works Australia.
‘I now feel more confident to have a conversation about suicide with someone, or to support someone who might be thinking about suicide,’ says Sue, ‘in a way that respects the autonomy and rights of the person being supported.’
Our in-house trainers all have qualifications and experience in Training and Assessment as well as their professional qualifications in the mental and public health fields.
Since October 2018, ASIST presenter Kara Lyons has been kept busy training 460 of Flourish Australia’s approximately 700 staff through a shorter half-day course developed by Mental Health First Aid Australia.
Of the new two-day course Kara says ‘I believe it to be a hugely valuable and recovery-focused course that goes into greater depth about listening to suicide stories, sitting with pain, and finding connection to life and hope.’
Veteran Mental Health First Aid presenter and Flourish Australia’s General Manager, Inclusion Fay Jackson says that we have offered training to some of our partners in remote areas like Bourke and Moree. ‘We see it as our civic duty to work in collaboration with other services in remote locations. Relationships matter very much in the bush.’
For more information, contact us on 1300 779 270 or make an enquiry now.
