Towards Zero Suicides initiatives

About

Towards Zero Suicides is an $87 million investment over three years in new suicide prevention initiatives that address priorities in the Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention in NSW 2018-23 and contribute to the Premier’s Priority to reduce the suicide rate by 20 per cent by 2023.

The Towards Zero Suicides initiatives seek to provide leading best practice crisis care and support, build on local community resilience and improve systems and practices to reduce the suicide rate in NSW.

Individual crisis care and aftercare support

• Alternatives to Emergency Department Presentations
  Twenty new services in all local health districts across NSW providing immediate support for suicidal people as an alternative to an Emergency Department.
• Suicide Prevention Outreach Teams
  Fifteen crisis teams responding to people in a suicidal crisis in the community.
• Aftercare
  Support for individuals following a suicide attempt in nine sites across NSW.
• Youth Aftercare Pilot
  Youth-oriented aftercare services for young people who have self-harmed in two NSW locations.
• Enhancement to Rural Counselling
  Fifteen new counsellor positions in nine rural local health districts.

Community support

• Community Gatekeeper Training
  Suicide prevention awareness training for community members.
• Building on Resilience in Aboriginal Communities
  Twelve culturally appropriate suicide prevention programs in Aboriginal communities across NSW.
• Community Response Packages for Priority Groups
  Resources for community groups to raise awareness and improve responsiveness to suicide.
• Supporting Suicide Prevention Collaboratives
  Support for existing collaboratives and development of new collaboratives through knowledge exchange.
• Suicide Prevention Alert System
  Trialing a protocol in local collaboratives to rapidly respond to people at imminent risk.
• Post Suicide Support
  Community based support services for bereaved families, friends, colleagues, first responders and others in the community impacted by suicide.
• Expanding Peer Support and Peer Led Initiatives
  Expanding peer-based groups and training to more sites across NSW.

Enhancement to models of care, systems and infrastructure

• Zero Suicides in Care
  Based on the Zero Suicide framework with the goal of eliminating suicide deaths and attempts in acute and community mental health settings.
• Suicide Prevention Training in Systems Outside Mental Health
  Suicide prevention skills training for government employees and NGO partners .
• Improved Collection and Distribution of Suicide Data
  NSW’s first register of suicide data.

​Other initiatives

• Suicide Prevention Fund
  Funding evidence-based, effective and innovative community based programs.
• Lived Experience Advisory Group and training
  The establishment of a statewide Lived Experience Advisory Group and training of people with lived experience of suicide around NSW to inform the co-design and implementation of the Towards Zero Suicides initiatives.