General News
18 September, 2025
Local suicide prevention initiative launched
A new local mental health prevention initiative has one clear purpose - to help people speak up, and to save the life of someone considering ending their life.
This story contains the personal thoughts and reflections about people who have died by suicide. For help, see the following resources:
Lifeline - www.lifeline.org.au
Call: 13 11 14 Text: 0477 13 11 14
13Yarn – www.13yarn.org.au
Call: 13 92 76
Gilgandra Local Aboriginal Medical Service
Call: 6837 5111
If life is in danger, call Triple Zero 000
Coonamble-based CTG Aboriginal Health and Gilgandra Aboriginal Medical Service (GLAMS) launched their new trademark programs “Speak Up Indigenous Communities Into Discussing Ending Thoughts”, and “Speak Up Individual Communities Into Discussing Ending Thoughts” (SUICIDE) - #Speakup.
Members of both health services held launch events during National Suicide Awareness Week which also encompasses RU Ok? Day. A small, but important crowd gathered at Gilgandra’s Coo-ee Heritage Centre for the local launch on Friday, September 12, 2025.
The group included members and staff of Gilgandra Shire Council, staff of Gilgandra Public School, GLAMS staff, representatives of Fair Dinkum Choices, local health services, the NSW Rural Fire Service, and Indigenous Elders, and other community members.
GLAMS social and emotional wellbeing and Aboriginal outreach worker, Ashley Kelly, was the event’s host.
Local Elder, Aunty Lois Towney, gave a Welcome to Country, acknowledging the traditional landowners and tribes, and welcoming everyone to Wiradjuri land.
The crowd then observed a minute’s silence in reflection for those who had been lost to suicide.
GLAM’s CEO Phil Naden said it was a day of reflection and commemoration - particularly those that have been affected by or lost to suicide. “It’s been a heavy week for a lot of us because we deal with a lot of the emotions and the shame that goes with it. We’re talking about people not talking about their feelings, but we want to be explicit in what we do.
“We are putting suicide at the forefront of our organisations - within our social emotional wellbeing teams, our men’s wellness teams; most of us are aware that we work across 35 to 45 per cent of our western regions so, unfortunately for our people, we’ve got a very high rate of suicide across this region.
“It’s an average nearly two people a day, which is a tragic for us, but I suppose it speaks a lot about our community work that we have to do, from younger kids right up into our older people as well.”
Phil acknowledged the stakeholders that had attended the launch, stressing that collective community support for the issue was vital.
“We’ve partnered with Lifeline, through the 13Yarn phone number, which supports people who have their ending thoughts. We’ve come up with this acronym to be explicit about talking about suicide. If you are having a yarn or a talk collectively, we ask you to use that hashtag ‘speakup’ as well so, it sends that message about people being comfortable talking about uncomfortable situations.”
Phil also thanked all the staff and health promotions team for their input and future focus on the issue. “The GLAMS office is three-years-old this year and hopefully we’ll get to our new building downtown soon, so we can expand a lot of our programs.
“And again, the suicide trademark will be at the forefront of that, along with all the other projects we run as well. We’ve got a really good team here in Gilgandra and we have partnered with Lifeline because we know that a lot of people already reach out to them,” he said.
Phil also encouraged everyone to take some of the available merchandise including t-shirts, brochures and mugs to help the visibility of the prevention message in the community.
To finish, Ashley Kelly recounted the powerful words written by an anonymous member of the community – detailing their lived experience with suicide and self-harm.
The anonymous speaker describes a life repeatedly touched by suicide. From losing their grandfather as a child, to saving a boyfriend’s life as a teenager, a recent family loss, to facing their own suicide attempt as a result of an abusive relationship. They recount how each experience left deep scars and changed them forever.
They described the enduring vicarious trauma through their work supporting others in crisis, witnessing death and grief countless times. In their personal life, suicide reappeared.
Through all this, the speaker emphasises that suicide is not a peaceful act; “it’s a devastating storm that tears through families and communities, leaving guilt, confusion, and unanswerable questions”.
Yet, they insist that amid the darkness, help and hope do exist. Their message to others is clear: you are not broken beyond repair, you are not a burden, and you are loved. Even the smallest acts, breathing, making a phone call, reaching out, are steps toward surviving. They refuse to let suicide define their ending and urge everyone to support each other, speak up, and break the silence around suicide.
