North Coast Targeted Regional Initiatives for Suicide Prevention – Lifeline Direct

The TRISP Program will be delivered in accordance with the North Coast TRISP Action Plan, which was developed to prioritise local activities and grounded in evidence from local data and aligned with the views of our community, gathered through comprehensive community consultation. The goals of the Action Plan include improving emergency and follow-up care for suicidal crisis, promoting help-seeking, mental health and resilience in schools, training the community to respond to suicide risk, and engaging the community. This program activity is aligned to activities within the Action Plan, with the focus of this activity being on providing a training package to whole of community.

To respond to gaps identified in suicide prevention efforts as identified by the community through significant community consultation.

Significant region wide consultation took place engaging service delivery stakeholders, community leaders including teachers, sports coaches etc, and people with lived and living experience of suicidality including families and carers.

Lifeline will deliver the following community training:

7 x Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): This two-day workshop educates formal and informal caregivers with practical skills to prevent suicide. ASIST has been evaluated regularly over the past 35 years of its delivery history, showing that this training enhances suicide safer communities.

20 x Accidental Counsellor Foundations (online and in-person delivery options): Participants gain an understanding of how to communicate effectively and learn strategies to help foster effective and trusting relationships with colleagues, peers, clients and peers, as well as identifying signs of distress within others. The workshop is interactive, encouraging participants to ask questions, share their experiences, practice skills and engage in self-reflection.

10 x safeTALK: This half-day program teaches participants to recognise and effectively engage with individuals at risk of suicide. Delivered globally since 2006, safeTALK is proven to improve suicidal crisis recognition and response.

4 x Standard Mental Health First Aid: A two-day workshop equipping attendees to support those facing mental health challenges. Participants gain a certificate valid for three years as workplace Mental Health First Aid officers.

4 x Mental Health First Aid – Non Suicidal Self Injury: This workshop is designed to equip professionals, educators, and caregivers with the knowledge and skills to effectively understand and respond to non-suicidal self-injury. Research indicates NSSI behaviours are particularly prevalent among young people with 8-10% of adolescents engaging in NSSI.

3 x Blended Mental Health First Aid – a combination of online (self-paced e-learning, about 6 hours) and two 2.5hr follow-on online training sessions delivered on consecutive mornings.

20 x Mind Your Mates workshops – 45min ‘toolbox talk’ enables participants to recognise the signs of depression, anxiety and possible thoughts of suicide in their friends, family and/or colleagues. This workshop is particularly useful in ‘opening the conversation’ for target groups where stigma and reticence to openly discuss wellbeing and suicide is identified as a barrier.

Providing the opportunity to attend free training will increase community members’ capacity to reduce suicide deaths and suicidal behaviour across the North Coast by:

• Improving knowledge of suicide prevention and how to recognise, respond, and support those experiencing suicidal ideation and mental health challenges in a more informed and empathetic manner.
• Increasing confidence and skills to act effectively in crisis situations.

Decreasing stigma and increasing help-seeking within communities. By fostering open conversations and promoting understanding, the training aims to create an environment where individuals feel more comfortable taking these conversations.