News

VITAL suicide prevention efforts will receive a boost tomorrow [11 September] with a cheque for $42,000 to Wesley LifeForce from a charity golfing drive at Killara Golf Course organized by a long-time supporter, Fiducian Portfolio Services.

The money, raised through a charity golf day and dinner supported by Rotary, will fund LifeForce suicide prevention workshops throughout NSW and extend other operations aimed at stemming the tragic toll of suicide in Australia.

More than six Australians a day take their own lives, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. Most are men aged in their twenties and thirties. Every suicide leaves at least 10-15 people affected by grief and loss and struggling with a host of unanswered questions.

Wesley LifeForce workshops equip people with the skills to identify and approach people at risk of suicide and show workshop participants how to intervene when a person is contemplating suicide.

LifeForce is a partner in the Federal Government’s $32.7 million National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

The workshops funded by the charity golfing drive organized by Fiducian, a leading financial planning and funds management company, aim to help communities where suicide is a taboo subject and those at risk of taking their own lives find themselves isolated and vulnerable.

Fiducian’s Managing Director, Mr Indy Singh, said his company was very proud of the success of its efforts in raising money for Wesley Mission.

“With a recent increase of suicide in drought stricken communities, LifeForce is a program that Fiducian was very eager to support,” he said.

Wesley Mission Superintendent/CEO, Rev Keith Garner, expressed gratitude to Fiducian and Rotary for their efforts noting that fund-raising efforts by Fiducian have raised $85,000 for Wesley Mission over the years.

Mr Garner said that the moving LifeForce Memorial Service held last month at the Sydney Opera House was a reminder of what was at stake in the work of suicide prevention.

“As I looked around those who had come to the service to remember friends or relations that they had lost to suicide, I saw a sense of sadness and loss on every face,” Mr Garner said.

“The work of LifeForce is so important. Every life we can save is an act that enriches our entire community. For giving Wesley Mission the funds to give help where it is desperately needed, Fiducian deserves our praise.” 

Dinoo Kelleghan 
Public Affairs Officer, Wesley Mission 
0434-076-644
dinoo.kelleghan@wesleymission.org.au