Support for families bereaved by suicide is lacking in Tasmania, a community service group says.
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Mental Health Families and Friends Tasmania chief executive Maxine Griffiths said families and friends had told the service while there was immediate crisis support following a suicide event, ongoing informal support was missing.
Mental Health Families and Friends offers peer-to-peer support for people with mental health issues either in person or online.
Ms Griffiths said support from those with lived experience was the best set of skills to have when supporting those who had experienced the suicide of a loved one.
The organisation, with funding from Primary Health Tasmania, will hold a forum in Launceston on August 12.
Attendees must register by calling 6228 7448 between Monday to Thursday or by email: admin@mhfamiliesfriendstas.org.au.
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According to state data, there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of suicides in Tasmania between 2012 and 2016.
Tasmania experienced its highest rate of suicide in ten years in 2019 with 108 deaths.
Mental Health Families and Friends has conservatively estimated that for every one person that dies from suicide, another four people are impacted.
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"This is of considerable concern when we recognise that exposure to suicide has been reported as a major situational stressor for death by suicide in Tasmania - 20 per of all suicide cases," it said in a submission to a parliamentary committee inquiring on mental health and suicide this year.
"MHFFTas recommends that the select committee investigate the provision of long-term postvention support for people impacted by suicide as a component of the system-wide strategies developed to encourage community resilience, capacity and understanding."
- If matters discussed in this article have raised concerns with you, call Lifeline on 131114.