IT'S an issue affecting most Queensland communities but now there is more help on hand to assist those who have lost someone to suicide.
StandBy offers support to families, friends and communities that have lost someone to suicide via phone and in person.
Recently, the organisation expanded its base of operations to the West Moreton and Darling Downs regions, but StandBy support officer Scott Lumsden said help was available across the state.
"Country people are very resilient and sometimes might not want to be an inconvenience by getting you to come visit them," Mr Lumsden said.
"However, our service is that we will travel anywhere.
"If a rural family has been impacted by suicide and they would like us to come out to them and support them, we will happily do it.
"We would hope no one ever needs our service, but if they do, we would like them to know who we are and what services we have on offer."
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Funded by the federal government, StandBy offers 24-hour support, runs locally tailored workshops and training sessions and aims to connect locals to other support services within their area.
"Standby started 20 years ago on the Sunshine Coast, it was a community response to a number of suicides that occurred in a short space of time back then and it's now a national program that supports people who have been impacted by someone that has suicided," Mr Lumsden said.
"Research indicates that someone, who has been impacted by someone who has suicided, is more likely to attempt suicide themselves and we're here to help those people.
"Whether it's a family member, a friend, a colleague or a school mate, we help them through the grieving process and offer support to make sure they're looking after themselves.
"If someone is having a tough time after losing someone, they can reach out to us and speak to service providers that we can connect them with."
Recent studies have shown that regional Australia is often over represented in suicide statistics, an issue Mr Lumsden said many organisations were looking to address.
"We'd love to see more work done in terms of support for regional areas but there is certainly a number of organisations like Lifeline that do good work in the country," he said.
"The important thing is that people know there is help out there and that support can take on a number of different services."
StandBy can be contacted on 1300 727 247.
- Lifeline 13 11 14.
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
