*Emotional trigger warning – content involves suicide*
12 th May 2019
What a busy few days I have had here in Australia!
I’ve moved from Brisbane to Sydney to continue my research into Suicide Prevention, as a privileged fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust . The findings and learning to date have been fascinating, with so much we can translate into work in this field in the UK.
On 8 th May, I had the fabulous opportunity to meet with two more wonderful organisations that are doing amazing things for suicide prevention and postvention.
The first was Standby , a postvention service offering support after suicide, helping those who’ve been impacted by suicide in any way, regardless of whether the suicide occurred today or at any time in the past. I met Monique Broadbent, Co-Ordinator for Brisbane, and Kelly Playford-Veel, Brisbane South Team Leader, both from the Nundah branch.
This is what Monique had to say about Standby,
“When people have been impacted, that may be because they were family or friends with the person who died. Or, it could just be that they heard about a suicide and felt impacted for their own reasons. Or, they could have witnessed a stranger’s suicide, or found a body. They might also be first responders, so police, ambulance, whoever. Standby goes out to whoever needs support, working with community members and professionals alike.
We provide short-term support, so we might go out to see large or small groups, for example, in a school, football club or workplace. Then, following this initial short-term support, we can refer people to ongoing support.
Unfortunately, Standby are unable to offer long-term, ongoing support. What we offer may look like bereavement and grief support, or it may be more trauma focus, depending on the circumstances and the person’s relationship to the deceased. But Standby’s big focus is on holistic care, linking people with ongoing services, precisely because we only provide short-term support but also because suicide is so very complex. It’s never just grief that people are going through.”
Standby is doing some amazing work in local communities, truly supporting anyone impacted by suicide, from crisis intervention point and beyond. It’s a postvention service, but that in itself makes it prevention too. As we know, people are at greater risk of suicide if they have lost someone to suicide. Acknowledging this fact, Standby does amazing work with children who have lost parents, siblings and peers to suicide too.
My second meeting today was with YourTown where I met John Dalgleish, Head of Strategy & Research, and Laura Clarke, Advocacy and Policy Lead. I was also fortunate to meet CEO, Tracy Adams, along with counsellors, supervisors and YourTown volunteers.
YourTown helps to create brighter futures for young people and families. It is a values based, national, Not for Profit organisation. They believe every young person has the right to a brighter future and aim to be part of the solution by delivering services that get results. Their services include Kids Helpline, training and employment for young people, parent education, and specialist accommodation for families. They are one of the largest not-for-profit service providers for young people in Australia with sites across Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. I met with the Milton branch.
My time with YourTown began with me doing a 40 minute presentation on Domestic Abuse in the UK, which I delivered as a ‘lunchbox session’ – in other words during their lunch break. Over 30 people attended and I was live streamed to their other bases across Australia! There were so many questions and people queued to talk with me afterwards, which was really heart-warming. Domestic Abuse prevention is another of my passions, so it was great to be so well received by an enthusiastic audience.
I then met with the Head of Service for KidsLine. KidsLine was inspired by ChildLine UK, where I used to work for 8 years! They also run ParentLine. It was so interesting for me to hear that they are doing a fantastic job, answering calls to young people and parents 7 days a week!
Lastly, I held a focus group with 12 members of staff to discuss suicide prevention, domestic abuse, support services and so much more.
I was absolutely shattered when I arrived back at my apartment! Reflecting on the day, I felt in awe of the work these two organisations are doing and I’m inspired and committed to make big changes in Lincolnshire, and beyond, on my return!
The next day, I flew from Brisbane to Sydney and have been settling-in and sight-seeing before the next three weeks of meetings, starting on Monday 13 th May. This experience is truly uplifting, an opportunity of a lifetime, and I feel so grateful to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for selecting me to be a Churchill Fellow.
RECENT POSTS
I don’t think I could recommend NWCH enough! My counsellor is great, I feel understood and hopeful and never judged. Thank you!
Young person Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
My son is opening up to Wayne about all aspects of losing his Dad - happy memories and the painful truth that he won’t be coming back. Wayne has taught him to acknowledge the pain but also remember the many happy times. The counselling he has had with Wayne has been invaluable.
Mum of her young son Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
Coming in for couples counselling, we were both nervous about how the session would work having not done anything like this before.
He listened to each of us and made it feel very light-hearted and easy. We were able to share our feelings and thoughts and Ian gently guided us to explain our views to help us see each other’s views and gave us things to think about for next week.
Couple Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
Personally, I was a very sceptical individual and initially attended as a good Will gesture to my family who had encouraged me to do so……. that being said I found myself to be able to talk to (let’s be honest, a stranger) about my life and its difficulties in an open and comfortable fashion……. don’t get me wrong I’m no soft touch! But I found it genuinely comforting to be able to do so! …. it makes me ask and look for answers from myself ….. rather than someone with a title telling me what’s wrong……,
Adult Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
The match of counsellor has meant my husband looks forward to his sessions & already is feeling happier & we as a family are seeing a difference. It is detail like this that makes asking for help via the NW Counselling Hub stand out – plus the reassurance all counsellors are qualified.
We cannot recommend the NW Counselling Hub enough and thank them for all they are doing for our family.
Adult Accessing NWCH Counselling Service
“We want to support our team when ‘life happens’. We asked NWCH to be our ‘go to’ support service for counselling and emotional support to help members of our team, if they need it, get them through some difficult personal issues such as bereavement and anxiety. The team at the hub are incredibly supportive and have provided a lifeline to our team”
Lincoln Employer referring employees to NWCH Counselling Service.
“NWCH have been providing counselling services to our employees for a few years now and I can honestly say that they have made a significant difference to many of their lives.
We are a company that believes in investing in our staff, and it is great to see when that investment is so profound and has such a positive impact, especially when it comes to people’s wellbeing.
Thank you NWCH, for enabling us to offer our teams such fantastic support and help to feel better when they face challenging times.”
HR Manager at Micronclean Ltd
OFFICE
CONTACT INFO