Our Suicide Story program was honoured to receive The Northern Territory Fitzgerald Human Rights award for Social Change last week in Darwin. We would like to extend a big thanks to the officials and judges for acknowledging the program with this prestigious award, among so many incredible nominations.
We are very proud of ‘Suicide Story – Our Way’ and its way of using cultural practices to guide participants through the process of understanding suicide and reducing stigma so communities can help one another in times of crisis. This program that would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of many brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles and elders throughout the NT who provided their wisdom in its development and implementation.
We would like to acknowledge the work and dedication of all our Suicide Story team members from Central, Barkly and Top End regions both past and present. This includes, Suicide Story Facilitators, Program Managers, Project Officers, Trainers, past SSAAG members and all community members who have welcomed our program into their lives and contributed to its growing strength.
Finally, we would like to thank our sponsors, the Northern Territory Department of Health and the Northern Territory Primary Health Network.
This award is a reminder that suicide is everybody’s business and our work is far from over. There is still a long way to go and we cannot ignore the growing concern of suicide in our communities and other remote areas of Australia.
For more information about Suicide Story please call MHACA on 8950 4600 or visit the Suicide Story web page.
If you need to talk to someone please call Lifeline on 131 144 OR Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 OR Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
If you have been bereaved by suicide, you can also contact MHACA’s StandBy Response Service on 0439 842 155.
