Life Promotions Program

Community Support - An Interagency Response

Working to provide a supportive response to a death by suicide …

Loss is difficult ... And responding to loss is difficult too ...

When the police notify the Life Promotion Program about a death by suicide we call members of the Suicide Interagency Response Group. These people come from a variety of services in Alice Springs including government departments, Aboriginal organisations, family services and youth agencies.

The Response Group meets within 24 hours of receiving the news from the police or other agency to provide accurate details to supporting agency workers, to share an understanding of all those who might be affected by this death and to ensure that those affected are given the option of formal support or at least are being cared for by friends and family. This service is based on the understanding that after a suicide, family and close friends can also be at risk of suicide and that their experience of grief can be particularly difficult due to the stigma associated with suicide and the complexity of emotions often experienced by those left behind.

This process can be complicated because we don’t always know the extent of who is affected by the death, and even when we do know some of them, we don’t always know the best way to offer them support. But we believe that support is very important, so we do the best that we can. And we will keep working on this process, trying to make it better.

If you have experienced a loss, we hope you are able to find someone you trust who can support you while you process this difficult trauma and pain.

If it is difficult to find someone to support you, feel free to give us a call and we will try to help you find a counsellor or a group who is right for you. Please also refer to our Resources and Links page for information on help websites and contacts.

For more information phone LPP on 8950 4608 or 8950 4609.