Suicide prevention: our funded activities

More than 3000 deaths by suicide occur every year in Australia. Suicide is the leading cause death of people aged between 15 and 24. Since 2008, the highest suicide rates have been among men aged 40-49.

In 2020-21, across Australia, there were more than 29,900 hospitalisations due to intentional self-harm. In addition, a large cohort of people are affected by suicidal ideation.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, between 2010 and 2021, approximately 1700 people died by suicide within the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) catchment. The organisation is working with people impacted by suicide, and service providers who support them.

We do this in several ways, including commissioning services, such as CAREinMIND™ Suicide Prevention Support.

We work to build capability in the sector by, for instance, making the evidence-based CAMS-care training available for NWMPHN-commissioned suicide prevention support services. We also support community-based skills training to address stigma and upskill people to recognise and provide suicide first-aid intervention.

We also work with the Victorian government and funded bodies to establish partnerships and coordinate pathways between services. This process involves communicating information to health care providers on local scales to empower communities.

Above all, we champion the role of primary care and support early access to care.

Suicide prevention activities across our region take on many forms. They include:

CAREinMIND Suicide Prevention and Support services

CAREinMIND Suicide Prevention and Support services provide free support for people of all ages who:

• cannot afford or are ineligible for other local services
• are at risk of suicide or self-harm
• live, work or study in Melbourne’s CBD, northern and western suburbs, and adjacent regional areas.

Intake and assessment are provided by national charitable provider of suicide prevention, mental health and counselling services, On the Line. CAREinMIND operates every day from 7am to 9pm. Phone: 1300 032 192

Head to Health

Head to Health is a free confidential service funded by the Australian Government and administered in Victoria by NWMPHN.

It helps all people access the mental health and wellbeing services that are right for them. It makes it easier to navigate and choose the most suitable care options, whether that’s face-to-face, via phone, or online.

The service is available on 1800 595 212 with a call-back option out of hours. The Head to Health website is also available and has helpful information and digital resources.

For non-urgent, non-clinical questions about the CAREinMIND and Head to Health intake process, please email us at referralandaccess@nwmphn.org.au

Support After Suicide

Support After Suicide a free postvention, bereavement support service for who affected by suicide.

Funded by NWMPHN and delivered by Jesuit Social Services, it provides individual counselling, support groups and online resources to those who are bereaved by suicide. 

To access support or speak about the program, please contact aftersuicide@jss.org.au or call 1800 943 415 Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

Capability building

A systems-based approach to suicide prevention is key to embedding and sustaining effective strategies. Capability building is an essential component of this approach. It works to ensure that community gatekeepers, and community members, are equipped with skills and tools to appropriately respond to suicide and suicidal distress.

Capability activities include:

• Training packages for at-risk cohorts in the community to identify and respond early to distress.
• Building the ability of the local suicide prevention workforce and relevant community members to respond to distress and link people with appropriate support and services.
• Engaging with those who have lived experience of suicide prevention.

Examples include:

CAMS-Care

CAMS-Care is a training service that helps clinicians learn and implement an evidence-based suicide-focused treatment framework. It helps increase the capacity to support and treat people at risk of suicide.

CAMS-care will deliver the CAMS training program targeted primarily to CAREinMIND and Head to Health. The training provides a consistent therapeutic framework for suicide-specific assessment and treatment of suicidal risk.

LGBTIQ+ Suicide Prevention Training

LGBTIQ+ Suicide Prevention Training is a free capability-building program supporting the LGBTIQ+ community through the delivery of LGBTIQ+ ASIST and safeTALK suicide prevention training. The training will enhance participants ability to respond to suicidal risk.

Training modules for primary and mental health care support to trans, gender diverse and non-binary (TGDNB) people

These free packages have been developed to enable better care for members of some of the most at-risk cohorts in the community. They help GPs, practice nurses, medical students, mental health and community service professionals become familiar with and sensitive to diverse terminology, experiences, health issues, standards and referral pathways with respect to TGDNB patients.

Each module takes about an hour and includes a variety of activities and visual content.

• Access the Primary Health care for TGDNB people training module.
• Access the Mental Health care for TGDNB people training module.