Lifeline is continuing its work to equip every day members to have honest and open conversations about suicide with people they care about, an approach that could save lives.
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Lifeline Ballarat is offering 500 funded places for a one-hour online training course to community members as part of the Ballarat Suicide Prevention Place Based Trial.
Manager Paul Huggett said it was important community members were able to identify and respond to people at risk of suicide.
"I think there is a bit of anxiety and reluctance on behalf of most people to canvass the topic of suicide with a loved one they might be concerned about," he said.
"This training provides people with the skills they need to be able to do so. It is a healthy conversation for people to undertake with people who are close to them."
Anyone is eligible for the online training and the courses will be available for the first 500 people who register.
It is a healthy conversation for people to undertake with people who are close to them.
- Paul Huggett, Lifeline Ballarat manager
The training program called Start is developed by LivingWorks, an organisation Mr Huggett said was a forerunner in suicide prevention and awareness training.
Other Lifeline education initiatives through the Ballarat Suicide Prevention Place Based Trial have targeted welfare agencies, schools, community groups and sporting groups.
The prevention trial began in 2016 as a coordinated approach to reducing the suicide toll focused on actions including women's and men's health and well-being and community-based support.
Ballarat's suicide rate remains far higher than the state average.
The suicide rate for men in Ballarat was 24.6 per 100,000 from 2015 to 2019, higher than the Victorian rate which sits at 16.2.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data records 77 deaths from suicide in Ballarat across the five-year period, with almost five times as many men (63) than women (14) taking their own lives.
The rate has been consistently high across Ballarat for decades, and is generally about 40 per cent higher in rural and regional areas than in major cities.
Mr Huggett said Lifeline was continuing to take a large number of calls for crisis support, similar to levels experienced during harsh lockdown periods.
He said severe flooding had caused widespread distress and need for crisis assistance across New South Wales and Queensland.
"I think people are becoming more confident in reaching out for support and people are also becoming more familiar and comfortable in accessing Lifeline services. We do get over a million calls a year," he said.
People are encouraged to scan the QR code to register for the free online training and contact Lifeline's Belinda Collihole on 0466 852 016 if are interested in becoming a volunteer crisis support worker.
If you or someone you know is in need of crisis support, phone Lifeline 13 11 14.