Suicide prevention focus of free webinar

Suicide prevention focus of free webinar

The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) is holding a free webinar focused on understanding suicide and effective prevention actions for World Suicide Prevention Day.

The webinar comes after the chief coroner’s release today of provisional suicide statistics for the year ending 30 June 2012.

“World Suicide Prevention Day is on 10 September and the coroner’s statistics are a timely reminder of the need to focus on working with communities and professionals to support safe and effective suicide prevention activities,” MHF chief executive Judi Clements says.

The free webinar features University of Auckland’s Professor G Luke Larkin and Dr Annette Beautrais. They will discuss protective factors that can reduce vulnerability to suicide and approaches to strengthening resilience.

New Zealand examples of suicide prevention initiatives and suggestions for what can be done to make a difference will be discussed in the webinar.

The webinar will appeal to people working in health, education and social services, and to people who want to learn how to support their communities to build resilience.

This is the 10th annual World Suicide Prevention Day, organised by the International Association of Suicide Prevention.

“World Suicide Prevention Day is an important day of remembrance, education and action,” Ms Clements says.

“We encourage New Zealanders to start conversations about how we can support each other, build resilience and wellbeing and strengthen connections with family, whanau, friends and the community. Some of the most effective protective factors against suicide are supportive relationships, belief in a positive future and a strong cultural identity.

“We all have a role to play in preventing suicide and attending this webinar will help people understand what they can do,” she says.

Attendance at the webinar is free – registration is online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8L27NXF

ENDS

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