Young men called to suicide forum

Young men in Albany are being sought to start conversations about their mental health to help bring down the unacceptably high suicide rate in WA.

Albany’s Young Men’s Project will be held next Saturday as a community forum and workshop in response to recent suicides.

Youth Focus is seeking 50 young men between the ages of 16 and 24 to help with creating solutions to prevent suicide among men.

Suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians, with 51 young people aged between 15 and 24 taking their own lives in WA in 2017.

In the past four years, Youth Focus Albany and headspace Albany have supported more than 2000 young people in the region through counselling and support services.

Youth Focus senior manager for services, development and innovation Chris Harris said the Young Men’s Project was set up in 2013 to inspire young men to co-operate.

“We need to arrest these statistics by ensuring young men feel comfortable and confident to start conversations about mental health with their mates,” he said.

“The Young Men’s Project is about creating a space where we can work collaboratively on new and innovative strategies to help shift the way young men think about mental health issues and reduce the unacceptable toll of suicide.”

City of Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said the City was proud to support the project.

“Youth suicide and suicide generally is a big issue for the community, and as a community we need to come together and find solutions, ways we can provide more support to young men particularly, and help them cope with whatever challenges they’re facing,” he said. The forum will be held at the Albany Surf Life Saving Club on Saturday, May 11.

Each participant will be paid $100 to be involved. To register, visit eventbrite.com.au/e/young- mens-project-workshop-albany-tickets-60252560029.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.