A message for the blokes: “It Ain’t Weak to Speak”
WHEN Pip Downey broke down and cried after seeing Perry Meredith’s name on her phone contacts just days after he died, she understood how much the suicide ripple-effect was hitting home in Dubbo.
Perry was doing ongoing building work for her and he’d already endeared himself to all the people at Dubbo’s Ingenia Retirement Village on Wheelers Lane, a facility Pip manages.
“My cook caught me in the storeroom bawling my eyes out, it really affected me. Perry’s name came up on my contacts in my phone and it just set me off,” Pip said.
That incident gave her the resolve to make sure Perry’s spirit wasn’t forgotten, and that his death wouldn’t be in vain.
Pip held a hugely successful fundraiser for the suicide awareness charity LIVIN at Ingenia in 2017, and now she’s doing it again on Saturday, March 24.
“We did it last year, Perry was a mate of mine and I guess I wanted to do something. (Young people taking their own lives) is happening too often,” Pip said.
“I asked Perry’s dad who he wanted to donate the money from the fundraiser to, and he said to Livin,” she told Dubbo Photo News.
“We’ve got so many donations for the function, the list just goes on and on, the community has been so supportive.
“I’m going to run an event like this every year for as long as I can, and the Wheelers Garden Social Club help me so much, they’re amazing,” she said.
LIVIN CO-CEO Sam Webb will be the guest presenter. He travels the breadth of Australia trying to save young blokes from their mental demons.
He lost his great mate Dwayne Lally in 2013, the shock of that loss driving him to co-found Livin, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at preventing young people in particular from falling through the cracks and taking their own lives.
Now he’s back in Dubbo on March 24 to talk to local tradies about the importance of sharing their problems with friends. The session will honour Perry and show how harshly the ripple effect from suicide can sear and torture an entire community.
“I’m looking forward to attending the tradies breakfast in a couple of weeks’ time. They say death by suicide effects at least 115 other people, but you can’t even put a number on it. The ripple effect that the loss of one life had on thousands of people is unquantifiable, it’s just tragic,” Sam said.
“Mental illness is costing many people their lives, every single day. While I’m sitting here speaking, people are taking their life because people suffer in silence.
“You can look for things like not getting out of bed in the morning, being socially disconnected, loss of appetite, change in mood, change in behaviour, lack of self-esteem,” he said.
Sam says many Aussie males want to appear tough, they don’t want to admit their vulnerabilities and weaknesses, and sometimes it just needs someone to be there offering support and listening – that’s what he’s going to be stressing during his Dubbo visit, how good mates can be better mates.
He believes educating young men, women and the wider community around mental health challenges and how to help yourself and someone else is important, as well as breaking the stigma and empowering people to speak up, a factor Sam says is so crucial in the recovery to getting well.
“The persistent stigma that affects young men in particular is something that is still very pervasive today. It’s important to educate these men and women that “It Ain’t Weak to Speak” and that you are not alone – there is a lot of help and support out there,” Sam said.
“The number of people affected is unquantifiable, it’s just devastating – we can help this ripple effect in a good way by delivering key messages and spreading stories of hope and survival.
“With hope comes life. With education comes understanding.
“Young tradies should attend to get a greater understanding of the real, raw conversations that are relatable to each and every one of us in some kind of unique way. You don’t need to be a professional to help someone, it’s about knowing what to say and when to say it that could change someone’s life,” he said.
The March 24 brekky will feature $2 egg and bacon rolls and run from 8am to 11am. For more information call Pip on 6881 6333.
Need help, or know someone who might? 24/7 crisis support is
available:
z Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au
z Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org. au
z Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 www. kidshelpline.com.au
z Mensline Australia 1300 78 99 78 www.mensline.org.au