ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR SOME GOOD NEWS, and this is indeed good news from the ABC.net.au 29thApril 07



One of the most terrible tragedies a family can experience is when a young person commits suicide. The waste of a life and the unresolved guilt and loss can be devastating.

Faced with an unacceptable level of young male suicide in the 90s, the government embarked on a national suicide prevention strategy, one key aspect of which was raising awareness of the problem among people who came in contact with young men in distress.

Young unemployed men were particularly at risk.

But now there’s good news. The suicide rate of young men has fallen and according to a recent analysis, much of the credit can go to the government. The link between unemployment and suicide appears to have been broken, even allowing for lower unemployment in the economy. The timing of the fall coincided with the introduction of the new measures and without going into details, the reduction was largely in the kinds of suicide which require planning, suggesting that young men may have been receiving help which allowed them to think twice.

So much as we love to bash governments, it’s likely that this is one occasion where they deserve our praise.

You are welcome to comment on your view of the article.Please no particular Political preference in your comments would be prefered.

Colin S