Last night in the seaside suburb of Aldinga, South Australia, Community Whisperers were called on to help stop suicide in the area.

Community Whisperers are people in the community who can assist those doing it tough and are in need of a conversation and potentially a suicide intervention, in order to get them feeling safe again.

Around 25 people sat in the Aldinga Hotel’s beer garden, to hear me, Jono and Michelle from GLASS EMPTY discuss the startling stats of suicide, the journey of GLASS EMPTY and The Whisperer Team – from it’s beginnings as The Pub Whisperer from the Great Aussie Pubs website to the creation of the Community and Signal that The Whisperer Team shares via coasters, posters and its website.

We had ice breakers, questions from the audience and photo opportunities wearing The Pub Whisperer Hat.

Suicide is the biggest killer of people aged 15 to 44 and the second highest for those aged 45 to 65.

Beyond the human impacts, the economic cost of mental ill health, suicide attempts and suicide is estimated to be $220 billion each year. That’s $220 BILLION EACH YEAR.

GLASS EMPTY Coasters now available. If you're a publican, contact us here to get your free pack and show your patrons you care.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.

I have written a short piece on hope and its importance in helping people get to the other side of grief.

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Hope. It’s the last possibility we cling to in times when we’re doing it tough.

But what happens when we have lost all hope?

Who is there to remind us to be hopeful. To see the good things in our lives, and in ourselves, that are worth living for? Who gets us to a place of safety when we can’t ourselves.

The Pub is traditionally the place we go when we want to feel better and if there’s no one else to turn to.

So, as a publican, ask yourself, could you be offering more hope to people?

The Pub Whisperer is a sign of hope. It’s a beacon in the community.

A Pub Whisperer can hold a TRICKY conversation around suicide and provide hope, by embodying the following traits:
Trust
Respect
Integrity
Confidentiality
Kindness
Your Good Self

When all else is lost we can feel safer knowing someone in the community can either listen to us, empathise with us or get us to someone who can with confidentiality and kindness.

And we can provide a culture of greater hope by encouraging them to get the support they need. Stopping the stigma around suicide ideation, which only adds to someone's burden.

Two of my favourite quotes on the topic of hope include:

Tough times don’t last, tough people do. – Robert Schuller

Hope is a function of struggle. People with the highest hopefulness have the knowledge that they can move through adversity. – Brene Brown.

We can be hopeful again knowing there are people who care. It may be the start of seeing something good in themselves, knowing they too can be kind and caring – excellent traits to live for.

Make your pub (or your favourite local) a safe hub of the community.