LivingWorks is delighted to announce our keynote sponsorship of the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference taking place on Kaurna Country, Adelaide.
As keynote sponsor, LivingWorks is supporting Associate Professor Laura Shannonhouse of Georgia State University to present on her innovative suicide prevention research focused on older adults, and understanding how evidence-based suicide intervention skills like ASIST can reduce social isolation, loneliness and elevated thoughts of suicide.
About her research, Dr Shannonhouse said, “My research on older adults, and promoting life with older adults, really has to do with how a small dose of sincere connection really can make a difference.”
Conference hosts Suicide Prevention Australia have shared their delight at welcoming the presentation.
“Associate Professor Shannonhouse is an international thought leader in suicide prevention. We look forward to welcoming her as a keynote speaker at the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference,” said Nieves Murray, CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia.
In addition to her keynote, Dr Shannonhouse also led the featured pre-conference workshop on suicide intervention, treatment and recovery.
The second international research showcase from LivingWorks at the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference features a presentation by LivingWorks Australia Director Marc Bryant on a soon-to-be released commissioned work by Dr Mort Silverman and his team completing a thorough, independent review on the literature on LivingWorks ASIST.
“LivingWorks is proud to have commissioned Dr Mort Silvermann and his team to look at our global gold standard suicide first aid program “ASIST”, a program delivered by thousands of Trainers across the world and implemented through service providers including MATES in Construction and Lifeline in Australia, HSE in Ireland, VIVAT in Norway and many others,” Mr Bryant said.
“What we know is that in order to help keep communities safer from suicide, we must deliver best practice solutions. Through this belief LivingWorks has accrued the most robust evidence base in the industry,” he said.
LivingWorks Australia’s Executive lead, Shayne Connell, also made comment on the importance of the annual national conference to collaborate for best outcomes in our communities.
“In Australia we are trying to really move the sector to a place where we are not only communicating to those in distress and those who are thinking about suicide, but also thinking about the role that others play in equipping themselves with the skills to reach in. We would like to see the whole sector take a whole-of-community approach,” said Mr Connell.
“A three-day event like this is a cornerstone for the suicide prevention field. We have researchers, practitioners, general community members and those with lived experience joining us. It has quite a large profile now, and it has real meaning in furthering the agenda around where we’re taking suicide prevention,” he said.
The National Suicide Prevention Conference will take place on Kaurna traditional country (Adelaide) 30 April to 2 May, 2024: https://conference.suicidepreventionaust.org/
A top tier conference line-up
The program for #NSPC24 is an exciting line-up of leaders from across the country and internationally, and what an honour to see many LivingWorks Trainers, partners and advocates sharing their research, experiences and practice wisdom, including:
- Reflection and Findings from the 2023 Coronial Inquest into Trans and Gender Diverse Suicide Cluster – Joe Ball, Tuesday 30 April, 12:30pm ACST
- Communicating online about suicide: Challenges faced by individuals, social media companies, and policy makers – Jo Robinson, Tuesday 30 April, 1:20pm ACST
- Unified support: Lived experience and counsellors working together, supporting those bereaved by suicide – Jo Langford and Bianca Lavorgna, Tuesday 30 April, 1:20pm ACST
- Reducing and preventing suicide – it’s a whole-of-community journey – Jo Riley and Glenn Cotter, Tuesday 30 April, 1:20pm ACST
- Collaborating to prevent suicide in regionally remote areas – Kesi-Maree Prior and Lauren Thompson, Tuesday 30 April, 1:20pm ACST
- Mates in Construction Enhancing impact by working with industry to develop new initiatives – Chris Lockwood, Tuesday 30 April, 1:20pm ACST
- The Concept of Mateship in a construction industry workplace suicide prevention program – Jorgen Gullestrup, Tuesday 30 April, 4pm ACST
- Give me a reason why I don’t die today – Glenn Cotter, Wednesday 1 May, 1:30pm ACST
- LivingWorks 40 years: evidence and impact – Marc Bryant, Wednesday 1 May, 1:30pm ACST
View the full conference program at https://conference.suicidepreventionaust.org/
About LivingWorks
When it comes to trying to prevent suicide, often the focus is on telling a person to reach out when they need help (which is important!), but what if everyone in that person’s life – their loved ones, their colleagues, their network – were confident to reach in and offer help?Since the early 1980s, LivingWorks has been pioneering “reach in” suicide prevention skills building in workplaces and communities through our integrated training programs, LivingWorks ASIST, LivingWorks safeTALK and LivingWorks Start.
We believe everyone can learn the skills to help keep those around them safer from suicide. Most importantly, LivingWorks training programs are built on four decades of research and knowledge translation with safety by design. LivingWorks training is backed by more than 43 peer reviewed studies and dozens of research evaluations, and is a universal but adaptable approach that translates between countries, cultures and communities.
