Webinar Recording: Men's lived experience of suicide

This pre-recorded webinar runs for 1.5 hours and can be purchased online and accessed at any time.

Learn more about suicide prevention and how to support men’s mental health.

Studies consistently show that men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health issues Of the over 3,000 lives lost to suicide in Australia each year, approximately 75% are men.

Men face complex and multifaceted challenges in relation to their mental health, requiring comprehensive and compassionate approaches from individuals, communities and services alike. By raising awareness of mental health issues, challenging stereotypes, and promoting help-seeking behaviour, we can create a society where men feel empowered to prioritise their mental health and seek support when needed.

Join our panel of men with lived experience as they discuss these issues with a focus on the impact on relationships.

Panel members will speak to their unique experiences and share key learnings from their advocacy in this space.

Learning outcomes

During this webinar, you’ll:

• gain an understanding of why it’s critical to engage everyone in suicide prevention
• learn how to engage effectively with men going through difficult times in their lives
• explore some of the key challenges involved in this work
• hear stories and learnings about how to engage effectively with men.
  
  

Ideal for

A range of workers in community organisations, social services, schools or businesses who want to better support men and understand suicide prevention.

About the panel

Dominic Alford is the Project Coordinator of Relationships Australia Victoria’s Support for Fathers project. This national initiative provides dads and father-figures with options and information about fatherhood, their relationship with their partner and connecting with their kids; and supports professionals who work with dads. It’s funded by the Australian Government through national family violence funding.

Over the past 6 years, Dom through the Support for Fathers project has been highlighting the role of men as fathers in the prevention of family violence through resource development, community groups, information sessions, conference presentations and workshops for communities, professionals and services. Dom has worked extensively in the welfare sector, with 15 years of experience in child protection, family services, foster care, parent education and teaching. To learn more about the Support for Fathers project, visit www.supportforfathers.com.au.

Tony Martin comes from a lengthy career in the tourism industry with several years of experience in executive leadership roles, local government, the military, and the teaching sphere. After Tony’s lived experiences of suicide, he developed a men’s community fitness group for blokes who had similar or shared experiences. The group has been meeting twice a week since 2019 and includes blokes aged between 13 and 70 years old. He actively seeks people in his community to join the group and provides continued support to them. He also enjoys mentoring and supporting blokes through one-on-one projects. Tony is Roses in the Ocean’s Head of Community-Led Safe Spaces. Roses in the Ocean is Australia's national lived experience of suicide organisation. They exist to save lives and to reduce emotional distress and pain.

Jon Eddy comes from a long working career in the construction industry including successfully running his own plumbing business for many years. He has an even longer history of lived experience of suicide. After losing his son to suicide in 2019, he made a promise to him to use his grief and pain to help change the way society deals with the topic of suicide. In the early days he had no idea how a tradesman could possibly make any difference in this sector. His life journey led him to Roses in the Ocean, which he’s very proud to be a part of. He says, “We must tear down the stigma surrounding suicide and we must go forward with a firm belief that our sacred lived experience knowledge will lead the change”. Compassion, empathy, collaboration and education are his mantras. Jon is Roses in the Ocean’s Safe Spaces Project Co-ordinator.

Tynan Narywonczyk’s belief is that everyone can play a part in preventing suicide. He has a passion and gift for advocating and speaking on the topic of suicide and mental health. He strives for change and bringing them both out of the shadows and into the forefront of conversations which can ultimately give people the chance he was blessed with; more time to live and experience life. Professionally he has spent the last 10 years working within the health sector in various roles delivering community development projects, advocating for reform within the public and private sector and delivering psycho-education sessions online and face-to-face. With tertiary qualifications in social work, health promotion and counselling, he combines his lived experience of suicide with the knowledge acquired from his formal studies and world experience engaging with people from all walks of life.

Contact us

Training and Development Team
Phone: (03) 8573 2222
Email: ravtraining@rav.org.au

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