Suffering+in+Silence

=Suffering in Silence= By April Tinker In June, 2008 the ABC News reported “Youth suicide dropping, but self harm on the rise”. A staggering 7,229 young people were hospitalised due to intentional self harm in 2005-06. The majority of self harming behaviours were due to self-poisoning and injuries by sharp objects. While statistics show this headline as true, it is frightening to see that suicide was the second leading cause of death for youths in that same period. There is a difference! People who self harm do not necessarily want to commit suicide however sometimes people die as a result of their self harming behaviour.
 * Introduction **


 * ** Some Contributing Risk Factors for Self Harm ** || ** Some Contributing Risk Factors for Suicide ** ||
 * Low self esteem || Personal grief and loss, including death ||
 * Strong feelings of anxiety or depression || Exposure to stressful life events ||
 * Emotional numbness || Mental disorders / history of mental illness ||
 * A response to physical, sexual or emotional abuse || Suicidal thinking, a previous suicide attempt or deliberate self harm ||

It is imperative that we work together in building a connectedness between our young people and the rest of the community to ensure that they do not feel that they have to problem solve on their own. Ideally, we should be promoting programs for youths that encourage resilience, healthy relationships and problem-solving skills. The most prevalent number of hospitalised youths were identified 15 – 17 year olds age group. With this in mind, we approached one of the local high schools and asked if we could address their year 10, 11 and 12 students. We were able to do this successfully at their Senior School Assembly. At the assembly we asked for volunteers to become involved in a community awareness program in relation to Youth Suicide and Self Harm. While the initial group started at around 45 youths, within a couple of weeks this number had dwindled to around 24 regular attendees. The group met once to twice a week over the school term.
 * Consultation **

The first week we discussed what they believed self harm and youth suicide was and what caused it. We were lucky to have representatives from Headspace come and speak on these issues in week 2. This helped clarify any misconceptions that were put forward in the first week.

At the second meeting in week 2, the group divided into 3 smaller groups. In these groups they discussed ideas on how best to promote these issues to the school and wider community. One of the smaller groups included people who had been involved in the “Drumbeat” program. This group put forward the idea of holding a concert one afternoon after school.

Discussion on what the concert should include continued the following week. During this time we were able to investigate the Drumbeat program further. There was a program about to start and we were lucky enough to enter 4 of our volunteer group into the current program. A volunteer from each of the 3 smaller groups began researching what information and services were available in relation to youth suicide and self harm. Each group contacted one service. The services included: From these services they received information on programs that were available to youths in distress. Each of the services also donated pamphlets on their services and programs that could be distributed on the day of the concert. The services also said they would be happy to advertise the event to their clients.
 * Networking **
 * Headspace
 * Red Cross – SAM (Save A Mate) Co-ordinator
 * Youth Beyond Blue

In addition to these services, the groups also contacted the local community radio station to start publicising the concert. They also met with the School Principal to get permission to distribute flyers to the school community and place posters up on the noticeboards. The event was to be held in the school auditorium so we had a small stage, microphones and speakers available. Advertising was mainly through word of mouth through the community but also included announcements on the local community radio station, flyers and posters around the school and posters placed at the services we had contacted.
 * Resources Required **

The Drumbeat Facilitator volunteered his services (and drums) to help orchestrate the drumming performances. We approached the SAM Co-ordinator to be our guest speaker. He also kindly arranged for a “suicide survivor” to come along as a second guest speaker.


 * The Event **
 * “Don’t Suffer In Silence “ – Concert & Information Afternoon **
 * 4pm Thursday, 10th October

** 
 * The event commenced with a short welcome from 2 of our volunteer groups. They gave a short overview of what they wanted to achieve by getting involved in the community awareness program


 * The SAM Co-Ordinator gave a short presentation on the differences between Youth Suicide and Self Harm and then gave an overview of the Save-A-Mate Program.


 * Amelia Smith, a 20 year old “suicide survivor” told her story.


 * One of our volunteers who undertook the Drumbeat program then gave an overview of what the program hopes to achieve.


 * Performance 1 – Rumbles (performed by Drumbeat participants)


 * Performance 2 – The Hills Rhythm (performed by Drumbeat participants)


 * Group thank you to participants.

Throughout the concert, group members worked at distributing pamphlets donated by the services to the people in attendance. Evaluation of the event was based on data from two sources. A questionnaire was compiled and included questions such as:
 * Evaluation **
 * · What was your understanding of self-harm prior to the “Don’t Suffer in Silence” event?
 * · What is your understanding of self-harm now?
 * · What indicator’s would you look out for in people you know if you felt self-harm or suicide may be an issue?
 * · Where/who could you go to for help or advice?
 * · Did the “Don’t Suffer in Silence” event provide you with good information?
 * · Would you attend similar community awareness events if offered?
 * · What community awareness topics are you interested in?

This questionnaire was distributed to people throughout the event crowd. People were asked to fill the questionnaire out and place in the “ballot type” box as the left.

Secondly, the volunteer group were asked to also fill out the questionnaire. These were returned the day before we held the ‘Evaluation Meeting’. When the group met at the Evaluation Meeting to look at the results from the questionnaire and discuss how the event went. The questionnaire responses were positive and most people seemed to have gained a better understanding of self-harm and youth suicide. Many were impressed by the Drumbeat performances and asked for further information on this program. The group felt that there was, overall, it was a positive outcome to the event.
 * References **

//Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008// //Bulletin 60// //Cat. No. AUS 102 Canberra AIHW//

//Drumbeat Facilitator Manual – Edition 3// //Holyoake, 2008.//