The Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative today announced that an additional 1,000 free licenses are now available for suicide prevention training, thanks to a $10,000 funding boost.

Dr Alex Hains, Regional Manager of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative, said he was delighted to receive the additional funding from The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health which was secured by Ann Sudmalis MP, Member for Gilmore and Stephen Jones MP, Member for Whitlam.

“This bipartisan support comes on the back of three-month campaign, Care to QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer (#care2qpr), run in conjunction with the Illawarra Mercury and the Shoalhaven Fairfax Media papers,” said Dr Hains.

The campaign urges the community to undertake QPR training – a one-hour online course which has proven to be effective in saving lives.

“QPR training helps people recognise the warning signs for suicide. It also gives people the confidence to talk to a family member, friend or colleague about their suicidal thoughts and connect them with professional care,” he added.

To date, more than 1200 people have completed the training in the Illawarra Shoalhaven – with the goal to reach 10 per cent of the population in the region.

“We have no doubt that this really important training will be snapped up quickly by the local community, especially now that the Government has enabled us to now offer another 1,000 licenses for free,” said Dr Hains.

“Our last round of free QPR training licenses which were funded by the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and secured by Keira MP Ryan Park, were exhausted within 47 days,” he added. “We’re expecting these new free licenses to go even quicker.”

Go to www.suicidepreventioncollaborative.org.au/QPR and sign up for free QPR training or contact the Collaborative directly on 1300 069 002 to enquire about QPR for your organisation.

If you or someone you know needs support please call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14.