Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Blue Heart day. It's the launch of Youth Insearch's annual End Youth Suicide campaign. Youth Insearch is an amazing organisation, having helped 32,000 young people across the country since its commencement in 1985. I acknowledge the presence of Stephen Lewin, their CEO, in the gallery at the moment.

Suicide is the largest cause of death of young people under the age of 24, and there's a particular tragedy when a young person takes their own life. It's the loss of potential, the loss of hope and the effect that it has on the community. Like so many organisations, Youth Insearch has adapted to the particular difficulties of COVID-19, moving many of its peer-to-peer support programs online. Since March 2020, Youth Insearch has provided 6,283 support calls, or over 32,000 minutes on the phone, and facilitated 1,279 attendances at 467 weekly virtual support sessions. This is quite extraordinary, but the really amazing thing about the work that they do is the outcomes. Last year, after attending Youth Insearch programs, 91 per cent of participants no longer felt suicidal and 89 per cent have not attempted suicide since. That is a remarkable turnaround.

Youth Insearch's End Youth Suicide campaign aims to create awareness and equip young people and those around them with the tools to talk about how they're feeling. I want young people to know they can reach out for help, and together we can all work to end youth suicide.