Pages

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

There's no 3G in heaven


Lifeline funding crisis going unanswered


Lifeline funding

Teenage suicide is rapidly increasing!

Calls to Lifeline go unanswered as not enough operators try to cope with the calls.!

"One suicide is a tragedy. But what happens when a community is rocked by a series of suicides, one after another, all of them young people? Do the families mourn in private, fearful that expressing their grief publicly could result in more deaths? Or does the community come together, so that individual families can tell their stories and in turn do something to combat the insidious face of depression and its consequences?
Until now the accepted wisdom has been to publicly downplay suicide but in speaking to families who've lost children, reporter Liz Jackson found that young people are in fact talking about suicide all the time on facebook. Social media has the potential to influence behaviour, for better or worse, and it's now accepted that suicide prevention strategies need to deal with this. As one parent explains, it was only after the death of her child that she realised her daughter had been discussing her depression and suicidal thoughts on facebook. When calls and messages kept coming addressed to her deceased daughter the mother was forced to write:
"Can everyone please stop calling and messaging (my daughter). She doesn't have her phone. I do. And by the way there is no 3G in heaven."
Four Corners tells the story of one community in a major Australian city where the threat of repeated suicides amongst young people became so overwhelming that families and community leaders, backed by mental health experts, held an old fashioned public meeting to allow the families and friends of the victims to tell their stories. It was a bold and controversial step but it was the only way they felt they could deal with the situation. In doing so the community hoped they could break the terrible silence and find a way to confront this silent enemy. You will be shocked by what you see.
"There is No 3G in Heaven", reported by Liz Jackson and presented by Kerry O'Brien, goes to air on Monday 10th September at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 11th September at 11.35 pm. It can also be seen at 8pm on Saturday on ABC News 24, on ABC iview and at 4 Corners."

7 comments:

AstridsSoapbox said...

I volunteered at a Lifeline center in Sydney some years back. It seemed that many of the callers were incredibly lonely and just wanted another human being to talk with...very sad but uplifting at the same time.

momto8 said...

oh my gosh! what a tragedy.

JohnD said...

Yes! it is sad - and I've had my tussles with "The Black Dog' as well, so know what it's like.

Missed the show on ABC last night but it is available on ABC i-View as a 'playback' show - will watch it this afternoon.

LindaG said...

Sorry to hear this is such a rampant thing.
I can't comprehend, but that doesn't make it any less sad.
As the song said. "How do you get that lonely?"
I hope a way can be found to help these young people. ♥

Elephant's Child said...

Just for a change - to some extent this was a media beat up. I am a volunteer at Lifeline. We try our best. Always. And no, we are not perfect but are continually trying to do more.
Some calls do go unanswered. Sad and true. Some of the people who do not get through the first time ring back and do get through. What are the answers? I don't know, I wish I did.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for people under 44 in this country. Each one of those deaths is a tragedy. For all of the people bereaved.

JohnD said...

Single WASP-ish males under 35, living alone and remote from family supports - very significant group in successful suicides where actual bodily harm is part of their death process. Another factor is rural males under 45 that form part of the 'High risk personality' group

Pity is, many of those males(probably 'cos they are "males") don't know how to ask for help. Beyond Blue foundation is doing a great deal of work in that area and needs your help!

High-risk personalities being:

A lifelong worrier
A perfectionist
Sensitive to personal criticism
Unassertive
Self-critical and negative
Shy, socially anxious and having low self-esteem.

Jo said...

Was a very sad show. Nobody has the answer unfortunately.