In 2 Life

24 June 2016 UCF Comments Off

Training Online Support for Youth Suicide Intervention – Adelaide
Established in 2001, In2Life began as an organisation to assist in the aid of at-risk youth throughout Australia.

Originally it successfully established relationships in communities throughout Australia through the RUSH Youth Mentoring programme involving secondary schools, local police, churches, local members of government and locally based volunteers and families.

In recent years however in2Life has re-evolved and its modern face was born out of the development of technology and social media. The Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide Facebook page was begun by two students recognising the need for a supportive community for those in trouble.

Today this page features 19,000 members and is frequently used as an outlet for those in trouble. In2Life was asked to manage this Facebook page as its membership grew so rapidly and the skills and expertise needed outstripped that of the the originating students.

There is no doubt that today’s youth find social media as a safe and easy way to express themselves. Herein lies the opportunity in which In 2 Life acts, using Facebook posts to identify those in trouble, and provide support to those in need. In the last 6 months In2Life has achieved the following:

  • Referred over 500 people to counselling and means of online support.
  • Provided support to over 600 youth surrounding issues of depression, bullying and self-harm.
  • Alerted emergency services for immediate intervention over 50 times. This frequently surrounds situations of suicide and can involve stopping of trains and emergency searches for those at risk of ending their life.

Once again In2Life applied for a $2,000 grant to be used in the training and support of four new volunteers. These volunteers make up the backbone of In2Life, constantly monitoring the Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide Facebook page. While the turnover rate in this field remains moderately low., it is critical to ensure this supply of support remains constant.

UCF has provided two previous grants – in 2012 for the Rush Mentoring Programme, and in 2013 for training of four volunteers for the Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide Facebook page.

The directors were pleased to approve another small grant to support this incredibly important support outlet for disturbed youth.