Community Broadcasting Suicide Prevention Project

The CBAA is pleased to welcome you to the September 2013 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 mark two important dates in September: World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 and R U OK?Day on September 12.

We look at the work being done by the OzHelp Foundation, a community based mental health support organisation with a focus on suicide prevention in the workplace, whose work was recognised at the recent Suicide Prevention Australia LIFE Awards.

We take an in-depth look at the role communities and individuals can play in supporting people at risk in rural areas, speaking with Dr Kathy McKay from the Collaborative Research Network for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Rural and Regional Communities and Professor Brian Kelly from the University of Newcastle.

We also profile a range of suicide prevention and mental health services, including beyondblue, Suicide Prevention Australia, SANE Australia, R U OK?, Lifeline, the Child Illness and Resilience Program, the StandBy Response Service, headspace, and the Butterfly Foundation.

The Community Broadcasting Suicide Prevention Project is available here.