NSW Community Collaboratives

Many people can play a role in reducing the rate of suicide in their local community, including:

• community members
• people with lived experience of suicide
• local councils
• health organisations
• educators
• industry bodies and employers
• non-governmental agencies
• local clubs and sporting groups
• police and emergency services employees.

The NSW Community Collaboratives initiative helps to empower local communities which have been impacted by suicide deaths to come together to better respond to suicide.

This means developing an Incident Communication Protocol and an action plan of strategies to help the community respond to postvention (support after a suicide), move towards recovery and return to suicide prevention.

The initiative focuses on all ages and stages of life, offering a whole of community approach by:

• helping collaborators come together to address local needs and to formulate a comprehensive and compassionate response to suicide
• fostering stronger relationships among collaborators
• instilling a powerful sense of community connection and hope
• establishing suicide prevention strategies and support, and
• encouraging the sharing of knowledge, learnings, resources, evidence-based interventions and referral pathways.

In communities where an existing suicide prevention collaborative group exists, the NSW Community Collaboratives Team will work with this group to add value to their existing strategies and share insights and actions that may support them to respond effectively in a postvention context.

The initiative is being led by headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation in partnership with Lifeline Australia and local communities.

News and media about the NSW Community Collaboratives initiative

Postvention aiming to reduce risk and accelerate recovery