Yesterday I learned that a dear lady had passed away, just last month.

Her name was Sue and she was the publican for the Tumbarumba Hotel in New South Wales. She had battled with suicide ideation on at least one occasion.

In 2020 I jumped in the family car with my 14yo son and traveled across the country from Adelaide to meet her and husband Greg and their awesome team of pub stuff, along with some friendly locals.

They had seen my work on Great Aussie Pubs website and that I was offering a Suicide Prevention Checklist for publicans and bar staff so they knew what sayings to look out for when people were in distress, and we also held a Pubs Supporting People Day, pushing tables together instead of keeping them apart. Essentially disobeying the 1.5m social isolation rules that Governments of the day were trying to pass down.

We did it in order to create more community during those difficult times.

It was something she wanted to do for the town and the pub. A pub that was a bedrock of support during the difficult times of fires and floods in the area in 2019/20.

Sue, Greg and the team supported their community during those tough times. In the same way pubs today can support their community.

When I becomes We, Illness becomes Wellness. And so when someone presents with suicide distress, a conversation can help that person to feel safe again. That is when we can bring wellness back to someone's life.

Motivator Tony Robbins says "There's a reason we suffer - we are focused on ourselves and the human mind likes to fix problems. When you trade expectations for appreciation, you find gratitude. And gratitude and suffering cannot co-exist.

"Noticing the grace that's in your life in some way is what stops us from suffering."

So, when we sit with someone who is experiencing suicide distress and don't try fixing them, you mirror to them what they need to know - that their and your presence is enough and being seen and heard and validated is a part of the healing journey.

If you're a Pub Whisperer or a Community Whisperer and you've shown up to help someone through their distress, then there's something for them to be grateful for. That is you, because you have shown up for them when they needed it. When they see that, they show up for themselves, by the act of being grateful, through noticing something outside of themselves and outside of their suffering and they find gratitude for it. It breaks the cycle and gives them hope.

The Glass Empty Signal, The Whisperer Team and The Pub Whisperer is not just a method, a model and a signal for suicide prevention... it's a movement in social kindness. It's making compassion cool.

With the Aldinga Whisperer Team, we are creating a blueprint for other Whisperer Teams to exist, so that the place people often go to escape the world, the pub, they can find a reason, or hope or something to be grateful about and be supported by people who care. Rather than escape the world in the pub, they can find their voice with a BRAVE conversation... Being Real and Voicing (Their) Emotions where someone supportive can Be Real and Validate (Their) Emotions.

Tonight at the Aldinga Hotel we will host a Pubs Supporting People Event with guest speaker Dan Ward from Project HYPE. If there's a mate you care or are concerned about, bring them along to hear some messages on ways you and they can support better mental health.

This week Jono has been featured in an Adelaide PHN Campaign which offers free suicide prevention training from Blackdog Institute.

Get the free training here.

The hour-long presentation is highly recommended for anyone who is or may be concerned about a friend, family, loved one or colleague.

Read more about Jono's story here. Other real stories of people who have been touched by suicide here.