BEING presents position paper ahead of suicide prevention roundtable

Tomorrow, BEING will participate in a roundtable consultation with a range of stakeholders to help inform the NSW Government’s intention to develop a whole of government suicide prevention strategy. Hosted by Suicide Prevention Australia, BEING will be joined by a comprehensive range of stakeholders representing people with lived experience of suicidality and bereavement by suicide.

To ensure that the views and wishes of mental health consumers are recognised and respected in this discussion and not discounted as has so often been the case historically, BEING has prepared a position paper to outline the priorities for a suicide prevention strategy from the position of people who have their own experience of suicidality.

Click here to download BEING’s position paper in full.

In particular, BEING is calling for any new strategy to recognise and address the endemic suicidism that accompanies this mental health crisis which compounds trauma and discriminates against people who experience suicidality.

BEING is also seeking a commitment from government to review the Mental Health Act 2007 in the light of any new strategy, in particular with regards to the role of police as first responders to someone in mental health crisis. A recent poll conducted amongst BEING members found that 85% of respondents said the police were the last people they would want to see when experiencing a suicidal crisis. Instead, consumers expressed a clear preference to talk to peer workers (a person trained in providing support to others, who also has lived experience of suicidality).

We want to see a harm reduction approach, which enables an individual to share their feelings without fear of being taken to hospital forcibly by police,” says Priscilla Brice, CEO of BEING – Mental Health Consumers.

Click here to see the survey results.

We also call upon the government to act on a clear recommendation from the recent mental health enquiry and invest in the expansion of the Safe Haven programme with more venues and longer, more relevant opening hours so that appropriate support for those experiencing suicidality is available right across the state.

How YOU can get involved

As part of their strategy design, the NSW Government has engaged Suicide Prevention Australia to conduct a series of 2 hour consultations to capture the views of people with lived experience of suicide. If you’d like to be considered for one of these sessions click here to register your interest. (Participants with lived experience will be paid for their time and contribution.)