Community Broadcasting Suicide Prevention Project - April 2012

The Community Broadcasting Association is pleased to present the April 2012 content of our national suicide prevention and mental health awareness project, developed with the support of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

Each month, our project team develops a series of 20 short radio segments designed to promote help-seeking behaviour and positive lifestyle choices, using interviews with service providers, as well as profiles of people who have successfully dealt with tough times in their lives.

This month we catch up with former AFL player Heath Black to find out how mental illness has affected his life, and to get his advice for young people who are going through difficult times.

We get some advice on how young people can cope and reach out for help if they’ve experienced a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one, or if they’ve been affected by a natural disaster.

We look at why it’s important for people in rural and remote areas to access mental health services, and explore some of the barriers that might stop them from doing this.

We catch up with the winner of the SANE Book of the Year Award, Emeritus Professor Sidney Bloch, to speak about his work in promoting greater understanding of mental illness and its effect in the community.

We also profile a range of suicide prevention and mental health services, including beyondblue, Mensline Australia, headspace, Lifeline Australia, Kids Helpline, ReachOut, and the Suicide Call Back Service.

The Community Broadcasting Suicide Prevention Project for April 2012 is available here.