April 12, 2024
More talk, more tautoko to fend off suicide
The director for education at Māori national suicide prevention body Te Rau Ora wants whanau to be more open to talking about suicide.
Ricky Bell says the more it can be part of a normal conversation, the less scared people will be to talk about their feelings or fears.
“So we need to talk about it more, listen to our whanau when they are having challenges, check in with or whanau, particularly with our youth, our rangatahi, our taitamariki. Check in with them. We’re not there to provide solutions but we shuld be there to listen, awhi and tautoko. We can all do that and we can all do better at that,” Dr Bell says.
With around 600 suicides a year New Zealand ranks about the middle of OECD countries, but it’s far worse for youth suicide which is nearly double the OECD average.