Julie Bendall holds a photo of her brother Jeffrie
By Sarah Schwager
A FIVE Ways woman has used the experience of her brother’s suicide to help others pick up on the signs and to help those dealing with a loss.
Julie Bendall said it was not until after her older brother Jeffrie Reardon died six years ago that she recognised the signs indicating a potential suicide.
“He was seeing a counsellor and told her he was going on a holiday,” Mrs Bendall said.
“I didn’t know it was a permanent holiday.
“He was trying to give us a clue. In hindsight I had every clue given to me.”
Six months after her brother died, Mrs Bendall started a support group at The Salvation Army Cranbourne to help people bereaved by suicide.
She decided to start up the group after taking part in an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) course in the city.
She is now bringing the training course to Cranbourne.
“The experience you get in the course isn’t out of a book,” Mrs Bendall said.
“I am now more equipped to pick up on some of the signs.”
She said the course could benefit everyone, even parents who did not think their children were at risk.
“I never thought this would happen to my family. We were a very functional family,” she said.
Jeffrie was 36 when he committed suicide.
“All people should do this course – parents, doctors, teachers, agency people,” she said.
Mrs Bendall has three daughters, aged four, 10 and 12, and says she now feels more comfortable about dealing with a suicidal person and recognising some of the signs of depression.
People often come to her now when they are concerned about a friend or family member.
The course runs between 8.30am and 4pm from 19 to 20 July with lunch provided at The Salvation Army at 1 New Holland Drive, Cranbourne. The cost is $200 for the two days.
The course will help participants learn how to recognise opportunities to help, reach out and offer support, review suicide risk, apply a model for suicide intervention and link people with community resources.
