ON Friday 24th of March, Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury (H2H) hosted a panel discussion. This was open to all members of the community, with the purpose of discussing how as one community, we can reduce the risk and incidence of suicide.

Lifeline H2H CEO Elizabeth Lovell welcomed guests stating, “we are here today to connect, learn and share about how local communities can collaborate to strengthen mental health and resilience.”

Reducing risk and incidence of suicide can be deemed a difficult task. How do you approach someone who is considering taking their own life, is there a right way to do so?

This panel addresses these questions, highlighting that everyone has a role to play, and that it’s okay to feel this way.

One of the panelists was Chris Cooper; a member of Lifeline Eclipse Group which supports survivors of attempted suicide.

Chris has had life experience working as a military veteran, a navy officer, and working in finance. In these areas of work unfortunately Chris had come across multiple suicides, no aftercare was ever given. He didn’t get the chance to, as Chris phrased it, “deep dive” into what was wrong. This eventually led Chris into deep depression in his late 30’s.

Chris’ first suicide attempt was in 2016. He woke up in his small apartment to torches shining in his face and police “giggling” as Chris stated. He overheard them saying things along the lines of “you were in the navy; you should be tough”; this was assuming they saw his medals that were shown throughout the apartment.

It was heartbreaking to hear that Chris had this experience, the whole audience at the panel felt it. This included Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command Chief Inspector Tim Winmill who apologised to Chris and said, “I never want to see this happen in my area of work”. He acknowledged that those who experience suicidal thoughts “are not criminals, they need help.”

For a long time after this experience, Chris had limited compassion, was scared to call for help and felt he couldn’t reach out to anyone.

Chris said that to help anyone who is considering taking their own life, or struggling in general, to “ask if their okay, treat them with respect; be human and show compassion.”

Another panelist was Jo Riley, the Executive Member Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative and Program Manager Suicide Prevention SENSW at COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN.

A long title – but what is important about Jo’s role is that she “lives and breathes suicide prevention,” as she stated.

Jo aims to build a culture where people play their role as part of whole-of-community approach, which is exactly what the Lifeline H2H panel was about.

Also present at the panel was Leesa Potter - General Manager Crisis Support and Suicide Prevention at Lifeline McArthur and Western Sydney, and Emily Knight - leader of the mental health PACER Group that work with Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command.

Overall, this event highlighted the importance of showing compassion to those struggling with mental health and experiencing suicidal thoughts. It showed that everyone in the community can help, whether they help people themselves or refer them to someone or an organisation who can.

Lifeline H2H would also like to thank the Turramurra and Lindfield Community Bank for generously supporting this event.