The Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Project portal will serve as a shared regional platform for suicide prevention information, resources and opportunities for community members, stakeholders, service providers and Local Government Authorities.
Holyoake’s Wheatbelt Community Alcohol and Drug Service (WCADS) will roll out this integrated, place-based Suicide Prevention Project throughout the Wheatbelt during 2022, funded by WA Primary Health Alliance.
The project is strongly aligned to the ‘Alliance Against Depression’ model and the ‘Lifespan’ integrated framework for suicide prevention.
This project aims to:
- increase mental health and suicide prevention literacy,
- promote help seeking behaviours and improve access to primary care and supports; and
- ensure that individuals and communities have access to information and empower them to access the support they need in a timely manner
“Holyoake welcomes this new initiative from WA Primary Health Alliance to build community capacity to support our vulnerable cohorts across the Wheatbelt region. We look forward to the introduction of this much-needed project.”
-Ms Lorraine Keane, Chief Executive Officer of Holyoake.
The Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Project will cover an area of approximately 188,000 square kilometres, including 43 local government authorities. It will ensure that individuals and communities have access to information and empower them to access the support they need in a timely manner.
The project will focus on activities aligned across four key pillars of service delivery:
- Primary Care Suicide prevention training will be provided to GPs, practice nurses, practice managers and pharmacies in order to encourage help-seeking behaviour in the community.
- Education & Training Free mental health literacy and suicide prevention training will be provided to professionals, paraprofessionals, and community members to increase confidence in being able to identify risk and how to access or refer into support.
- Grant/Funding Round will be offered to LGAs, organisations, community wellbeing plan committees, incorporated bodies, and service groups to undertake place based grass roots suicide prevention activities and training that align to the Alliance Against Depression Pillars.
- Community Champions will be identified with representation from the most vulnerable sub populations. They will have access to free training and resources to build capacity and embed suicide prevention activities at a community level.
The Suicide Prevention Project will be managed by Jo Drayton, Holyoake’s Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Coordinator. “This timely injection of funding into the Wheatbelt will assist and empower individuals and communities to deliver solution-focussed activities to reduce risk and improve safety. It will also assist in upskilling our workforce to be better equipped to support individuals in distress or those living with suicidal ideations.” said Ms Drayton.
“Empowering individuals and communities is at the heart of this activity. The establishment of community-led initiatives will encourage tailored, sustainable solutions to meet the diverse needs of our Wheatbelt communities,” said Melissa Spark, WA Primary Health Alliance Regional Manager – Wheatbelt.
This project will be governed by a Wheatbelt Reference Committee with representation from Holyoake WCADS, the WA Country Health Service (WACHS), and WA Primary Health Alliance.
For further information please contact: Jo Drayton (JDrayton@holyoake.org.au) or Jordyn Drayton (jordyn.drayton@holyoake.org.au)
The Grant Pillar will focus on the provision of funding to:
- Local Government Authorities
- Community Wellbeing Plan committee’s
- Local Health Advisory Groups
- Incorporated bodies
- Schools
- Community Groups / Service Clubs
to deliver place-based lead suicide prevention activity, which can consist of (but not restricted to):
- Education or Workshops
- Mental Health Week Events
- R U OK? Day Events
- World Suicide Prevention Day Events
- Mens Health Week Events
- Women’s Health Week Events
- Youth Week Events
- Seniors Week Events
- NAIDOC Week Events
- Reconciliation Week Events
- Multi-cultural Events (Harmony Week)
The funding round will be open from Thursday 17th March 2022 and will close on Thursday 28th April. Successful applicants will be advised in mid May 2022.
The focus of the training and education pillar is:
Provision of Mental Health literacy and suicide prevention training to professionals and para-professionals.
- Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Training (2 Days)
- Mental Health Fist Aid – Adults (2 Days)
- Mental Health First Aid – Youth (2 Days)
- Mental Health First aid – Aboriginal (2 Days)
- DV Alert (2 Days)
Provision of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention resources to front line staff, community members and volunteers.
- safeTALK (1/2 Day)
- Staying SOLID with SAFE Yarning (1/2 Day)
- Rural Minds workshop (1/2 Day)
- Mental Health Fist Aid – Adults (2 Days)
- Mental Health First Aid – Youth (2 Days)
- Mental Health First aid – Aboriginal (2 Days)
- Accidental Counsellor
- -Applied Suicide Intervention Training – ASIST (2 Days)
* Please refer to upcoming training on the side bar of the portal
The focus of the primary care pillar is:
- Provision of Mental Health literacy and suicide prevention training to general practitioners, nurse practitioners and practice staff.
- Provision of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention resources to general practices.
- Creation of campaign material promoting help seeking behaviour through primary care.
The Community Champion Pillar will focus on:
“BUILDING A WHEATBELT COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE”
The priority areas of this pillar will be on :
- Identifying local community champions (seeking representation from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, young people, older adults, people from culturally & linguistically diverse populations, Lived Experience and First Responders
- Provision of education and training to Community Champions – aligning with the Training and Education Pillar
- Development & utlisation of a PHEX Portal to connect Community Champions across the Wheatbelt
- Supporting & empowering Community Champions to develop place based suicide prevention activity/events
- Dissemination of mental health literacy & suicide awareness information to Community Champions via the PHEX Portal
- Development of localised resources utilising the Alliance Against Depression, Think Mental Health &, R U OK Foundation messaging
- Development of localised Photo Voice resources