Communities play a crucial role in suicide prevention. Communities are pivotal in identifying and supporting those impacted by exposure to suicide in their healing and recovery, connecting those individuals with services, and fighting stigma, shame and blame which are often associated with suicide.

Examples of suicide awareness activities

Suicide awareness walks, community suicide commemorations and setting aside specific days for suicide awareness (e.g. World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September annually) are examples of community activities which are aimed at:

• Increasing community awareness and understanding of suicide.
• Providing an opportunity for the suicide bereaved to come together, connect with one another in a supportive way and remember their loved ones.
• Providing information about available supports and services for the suicide bereaved to encourage engagement by those in need, into care.
• Connecting the community and building both individual and community resilience.

Caution when planning suicide awareness activities

However, community suicide awareness activities also have the potential to cause “suicide exposure effects”, that is the spread of adverse health impacts and suicidal behaviours through a community. This is why such activities need to be planned carefully.

Tō te Rā recommend careful preparations and extreme caution is taken when holding large, open invitation, open-microphone meetings as there is a chance, given the strong emotions often present, that such meetings may not be able to be safely conducted for everyone in attendance.

Recommendations when planning suicide awareness activities

Planning community suicide awareness activities:

• Involve a wide cross section of the community when planning and creating a community suicide awareness activity.
• Involve community leaders (including iwi, hapu, mana whenua, cultural and spiritual leaders), experts in the fields of suicide and mental health, local health and mental health professionals and service providers, and those with lived experience (whanau pani / the suicide bereaved) to ensure that various perspectives and experiences are considered.
• Clearly outline your intended goals and consider whether the chosen activity is best suited to achieve these.
• Consider local cultural practices and how best to respect and reflect these in any planned activity as to maximise community healing and connection.
• Use appropriate and sensitive language when referring to suicide.
• Consider everyone who will be exposed to the messages from the activity and how all these people will be appropriately supported during and after the activity.
• Consider how the activity will be publicised and promoted. If media (print or social) is to be used ensure that local services and their contact details are promoted along-side and that help-seeking is actively encouraged.
• Use a responsible and cautious approach when planning any activity including the careful consideration of issues like the timing of the event in the context of the whānau and community’s grief, the intended time of the day for delivery, age appropriateness and manageability of audience size.
• Tō te Rā discourage community suicide awareness planning meetings and activities being held through the active tangihana process or prior to the bereaved family laying their loved one to rest.

Key messages

The World Health Organisation recommends the following important key messages to be promoted during community suicide awareness activities:

• Communities play a key role in suicide prevention. Community connectedness, collaboration and coordination are vital for effective suicide prevention.
• Suicides are preventable. There are many services and supports available to the community and we want to promote the idea that everyone can help save a life by being the eyes and ears to suicide warning signs among those they know and referring anyone they’re concerned about to services and supports to ensure that those who need support and help are getting it.
• Tough times pass; offering and accepting hope and assistance helps. Suggest alternatives to suicidal behaviour for coping with emotional pain or problems or indeed any other stressful life events.
• Restricting access to means of suicides works.
• Suicides have a high impact on whanau, hapu, iwi, friends and communities and they need
  additional support.
• Breaking the silence around talking about suicide is important. Reducing the stigma often present around suicide helps. Especially emphasising success stories of people recovering from mental illness and overcoming suicidal thoughts feelings or behaviours to emphasise the benefits of help-seeking.
• Strengthening connectedness with others protects against suicide; decreasing isolation and loneliness helps.
• Engaging those impacted by suicide with services is vital suicide prevention work. Supports and services and their contact details should be promoted at the beginning and at the end of any activity.
• Emphasise protective factors wherever possible. Factors like:
  • easy access to supports and services,
  • a strong sense of cultural connection, identity and esteem,
  • hope and self-worth,
  • the use of problem-solving skills and safety plans,
  • strong connectedness and support with family, whānau, hapu and iwi, and
  • removing access to means of suicide.
• Sufficiently support and prepare anyone delivering a personal story:
  • this should include avoiding any mention of the details of the place or method of the suspected suicide,
  • emphasise that suicides are preventable and emphasise help-seeking and linkage with services as desired outcomes.
• Permanent memorials are NOT erected. There is a risk that any permanent memorials are seen as glorifying the deceased; that the deceased is more valued in death than in life. The memorial may also serve as a traumatic reminder or trigger which re-traumatises the bereaved.
• Consider incorporating the following into any community suicide awareness activity:
  • coming together at the end of the activity for a shared meal. This can serve both to better connect individuals with supports and as a touch point to screen individuals for any additional support needs following the activity.
• Inviting local media to write about the activity using safe reporting guidelines (see Media Guidelines Checklist | Mental Health Foundation)