A Tewantin-based after suicide support group has its future ensured after long-term partner UnitingCare Queensland this week took over the reins.
StandBy Support After Suicide general manager Karen Phillips said the organisation began on the Sunshine Coast almost 20 years ago and has since expanded its services across Australia.
“StandBy has been proudly supporting families, loved ones, witnesses, first responders and communities impacted by suicide for almost two decades,“ Ms Phillips said.
“We understand that the grief that follows suicide is complex, and that from one suicide up to 135 people may be impacted.
“Those that are bereaved or impacted by suicide are at a greater risk of suicide themselves, and our focus is to provide a range of supports to anyone that may be impacted, including emotional and practical supports to young people, children, schools and workplaces.
“We’ve had a long-term relationship with UnitingCare Queensland since the StandBy Trial Replication Project in Brisbane in 2006 and in the North Queensland region since 2009.”
UnitingCare Queensland previously partnered with StandBy in Brisbane and North Queensland and has now expanded the partnership to include Sunshine Coast, Central Queensland and Wide Bay.
Uniting Care Queensland’s Family and Disability Services group executive Brent McCracken said StandBy was a welcome addition given the extensive services UnitingCare provided in the region.
Sandra Moran contacted StandBy for support after losing her son to suicide in 2014 and has since gone on to support others bereaved and impacted by suicide as a StandBy lived experience representative.
“The police referred my family to the StandBy Support After Suicide service, this began a chain reaction of connections to local and relevant supports,” the Biloela resident said.
“Suicide grief is such a traumatic grief, we the survivors need to know that everything we are feeling about our loss, are valid and totally normal, I consider it a privilege when a survivor of suicide shares their own experience with me.
“We, as survivors, need understanding in the aftermath of suicide loss. We simply need patience, kindness and zero judgement.
“In my role as a lived experience representative, I try to provide a voice for those who are not yet ready to speak, or who may never be able to speak up. I try to show survivors that there is still hope after complete devastation.“
Tewantin’s StandBy coordinator Janet Adena will continue in her role and ensure continuity of support for individual and community needs.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing a personal crisis or distress, please seek help immediately by calling 000 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
To find out more about StandBy visit www.standbysupport.com.au or www.facebook.com/standbysupportaftersuicide
