Dani Rothwell, Drew Gormlie and Holt MP Anthony Byrne encourage residents to attend the Summit on Youth Suicide next month. 84372 Picture: Donna Oates
By Lia Bichel
A COMMUNITY summit on suicide has been called following the recent deaths of several youngsters locally.
The summit, called by Holt MP Anthony Byrne, will be held in Narre Warren on Saturday, 11 August – and Patrick McGorry, Australian of the Year in 2010, will be the keynote speaker.
Mr McGorry – who says suicide is the biggest killer of people aged under 35 and the issue needs to be challenged as seriously as the road toll – is the executive-director of Orygen Youth Health.
“The summit will give people affected by this issue and people wanting to know more about it, the chance to listen to key mental health experts,” Mr Byrne said.
“Attendees will be able to find out more about the services available to people in the local area.”
Mr Byrne met with year 12 student Dani Rothwell and Drew Gormlie from Spiritworx on Wednesday.
The trio have thrown out an “open invitation” to the Summit on Youth Suicide at the City of Casey council chambers between 2pm and 4pm on 11 August.
Mr Byrne said the summit would also allow young people like Ms Rothwell to convey their concerns and to come together to work out a better way to address this issue of youth suicide, including the significant and far reaching loss suffered by friends and family members left grieving for a loved one who has taken his or her life.
“Hearing from young people directly is extremely helpful, as sometimes they are unwilling to speak out about the bullying they encounter at school or peer pressure they receive from friends to consume drugs and/or alcohol,” Mr Byrne said.
“It is important that we as a community understand the challenges our youth face and allow for their voices to be heard. Then more action can be taken to address the issue of youth suicide.”
Mr Byrne said that according to experts, six or seven Australians die every day by their own hand. For each person lost to suicide, about 30 others have made an attempt to kill themselves.
The rates of suicide and self-harm in Australia remain very high, with the number of deaths at least 40 per cent greater than the number attributed to national road fatalities.
Mr Byrne praised the efforts of youth in the community, including Beaconhhills student Jessica Cummings, 18, and her boyfriend Thom Hartland, who have started up a Facebook page called ‘Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide’.
“In many ways this summit will use their slogan as the theme of the summit,” Mr Byrne said.
Many other organisations and local youths have begun initiatives to address the issue.
Mr Byrne said the main programs run are by beyondblue, Suicide Helpline, Lifeline, and Headspace, which is run by the National Youth Mental Health Foundation.
Windermere Child and Family Services has also begun rolling out a pilot suicide prevention and intervention program to at least four schools, and as reported in the News last month (7 June), Reverend John McMahon is launching a The Born Survivor Program, created by Focus on Family Australia to give students in schools the understanding needed to seek support if they or someone they know are dealing with a mental illness such as suicidal thoughts.
Mr Byrne said now was the time to act and by bringing together youth, mental health stakeholders and politicians, “we can make sure we create a region wide plan to deal with this issue.”
The Summit on Youth Suicide is free, but registration is required. To do so, call Mr Byrne’s office on 9796 7533. To find out more on the summit, visit www.anthonybyrnemp.com.
