Suicide Prevention
The Hon John Dawkins MLC, Premier's Advocate for Suicide Prevention, pictured here with Rotarian Pru Maitland
Once upon a time talking about suicide was taboo. People didn't want to acknowledge the mere fact of it so strong was the stigma and shame. Churches considered it a sin and wouldn't allow people who suicided to be buried on sacred ground leaving grieving families with nowhere to mourn and visit to reflect. These days we are a more enlightened society and, hopefully, more understanding on issues of mental health. The stigma has been lifted to an extent but more work needs to be done was the message I got from last night's presentation by John Dawkins, Premier's Advocate for Suicide Prevention.
Gawler born and bred, John gave a rather short history of his earlier life and it occurred to me his history makes him perfect for his current role. He was a primary producer before entering parliament; has worked for the CFS including fighting two of the Ash Wednesday fires and; has a 30 year history with Rotary, 20 years as a member until parliamentary duties got in the way and then 10 years as an honourary member.
John has now been involved in suicide prevention work for 17 years working especially with young families and farmers. He told us about a farmer in the Riverland who suicided over a $20,000 debt, he was too ashamed to talk to his bank manager, GP, priest or family and ask for help. John said as there was no money allocated in early days so he went to the service clubs for assistance. The 'S' word meant clubs would run a mile and weren't initially interested but eventually came on board and John was able to put programs in Eyre Peninsula and the Riverland which has changed lives.
After the 2010 election he worked alongside Rachael Sanderson and together they put in strategies and local networks in rural areas. Now 13 people sit on the Suicide Prevention Council and, with other organisations such as Silent Ripple, work with veterans, gay and Indigenous communities. The Issues Group, which sits as a tier underneath the Council and has 40 networks across Australia, has every government department represented and, whilst government wheels are slow to turn, John said significant change is now occurring. On a topical note, they are assisting people who have lost homes and livelihoods due to fires. But, they also work with first responders who deal with the most horrendous things on a daily basis, including being called out to suicides.
John says that, interestingly, suicide stats for country areas is down although post fires this could change. He puts this down to not only a new awareness regarding mental health but also country areas have more of a sense of community than metropolitan areas. You can be really lonely in a huge crowd.