Local Suicide Prevention Group Fosters Connection, Reduces Stigma and Builds Hope

Changing the Narrative on Suicide, is the theme of World Suicide Prevention Day on Wednesday 10 September. It challenges us to shift how we think and talk about suicide and is a call to reduce stigma by encouraging openness, empathy and action, to ensure those who are struggling feel heard, supported and connected.

A group of local individuals and organisations called the Nepean Blue Mountains Suicide Prevention Collaborative are doing just that, by combining forces to achieve a shared goal of reducing suicide rates across the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith areas.

The Collaborative is a group of people with lived and living experience of suicide, representatives from government and non-government organisations, community groups, volunteers and business owners. The group shares a commitment to preventing suicides, promoting aftercare following a suicide attempt or crisis and support after suicide loss, fostering connection, reducing stigma and building hope through initiatives, open dialogue and accessible support.

Wentworth Healthcare, provider of the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, supports the Collaborative through funding from the Australian Government’s Targeted Regional Initiatives for Suicide Prevention program.

Since March 2024 the Collaborative has been meeting regularly to discuss activities that will make a positive impact. These activities recognise that building people’s capacity to look out for the signs of distress and have the confidence to know what to do if someone they know might need some support, can make a difference.

Wentworth Healthcare CEO, Lizz Reay, said that suicide is a deeply complex issue that requires a whole of community approach.

“Preventing suicide takes a collective effort from a diverse group of people, such as those who make up the Collaborative and other agencies, to ensure we are looking at the different angles and perspectives to help prevent suicide,” said Ms Reay.

Additional statement from Lizz Reay on the announcement from the NSW Government regarding the passing of the Suicide Prevention Bill 2025 in NSW on 11 September: 

“Suicide is a deeply complex issue. Preventing suicide, and reducing the stigma surrounding suicide, requires a whole of community approach and collective effort from governments, agencies and the community. This Bill formally recognises that everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention and ensures that this important issue is at the forefront of future planning on a state level, which is an important step forward in changing how suicide prevention is viewed in the health and community landscape,” she said.

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