Permanent safe space for suicidal crisis support coming to Bridgetown

A new mental health safe haven is set to open in Bridgetown and will aim to help people in crisis as Bridgetown-Greenbushes Suicide Prevention Network begins development on their space. The BGSPN will be creating a community-led Safe Space as a part of an initiative from national suicide prevention group Roses in the Ocean. The Safe Space will be a drop-in support centre for those experiencing suicidal crisis, as a way for them to reduce stress by being in a more welcoming environment with services also available. BGSPN chair Dr Sarah Youngson said the space would be one of a network of 15 across Australia as a “warm and welcoming environment” for those who need it. “It will be for people in distress, suicidal crisis and any form of psychological or emotion distress to calm and talk to other people, who have had their own lived in experiences with suicide,” she said. “The person who is in distress can go into the safe space — which is not a hospital or a clinical place, but a warm and welcoming environment — to talk to the volunteer on duty, have a cup of tea or just be in a place where they can be safe during their time of distress.” Dr Youngson said the Henri Nouwen House was chosen as the main location for the space. “We are going to set it up at Henri Nouwen House, which is a beautiful historical building in central Bridgetown, which already run a few mental health programs and does some great work in the mental health sector,” she said. “We were approached by one of the original developers for a safe space in the South West — there’s one in Busselton and one in Bunbury — and he saw the work we were doing at the Suicide Prevention Network. “He suggested we apply for funding to establish a safe space in Bridgetown, and there’s a huge need in regional Australia for places like this. “We felt there was a lot of benefit for a place like this that isn’t clinical and daunting for people, and a good opportunity for the wider community.” The BGSPN hope to gain community feedback before they open with a workshop on May 15 from 4pm to 8pm. “We’re doing a community consultation where we’re inviting members of the community who have had a lived-in experience with suicide to take part in a workshop to inform our group of how they think the space should be — what they want it to look like, how it should feel, what hours they want,” she said. Dr Youngson said after the workshop, the next goal would be finding volunteers who could help those attending the space, and hopes the space would be opening up to the public within the next three months. Lifeline 13 11 14