CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms SHARKIE (Mayo) (09:42): With World Suicide Prevention Day a week ago, I want to talk about my recent meeting with Aldinga Beach man Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, who has experienced suicide distress, wanted to assist others in similar situations. An estimated 65,000 Australians make a suicide attempt each year.

Tragically, it's the leading cause of premature death for those aged 15 to 49. But the vast majority of those who report suicide ideation or distress do not seek professional or clinical help. In a 2020 report, almost 25 per cent of adult men said they would not seek help, and 80 per cent said they would be unlikely to seek help from a phone line.

Recognising this, Jonathan started a community mental health awareness and peer support initiative called Glass Empty. Glass Empty describes how someone in suicide distress feels. Their glass is no longer half full or half empty; it is drained.

Glass Empty does not do the work of a crisis counselling or clinical treatment service. It's about helping peers feel more confident to say, 'Are you okay?' and people to feel safer to say, 'I'm not OK.' Jonathan started Glass Empty to help build human connection by making it easier to start that conversation. In participating local venues, posters and coasters publicise the Glass Empty message.

Black Dog Institute trained staff and customers to look out for an upturned glass with a Glass Empty coaster on it—a sign that somebody needs to have a conversation. It creates an opportunity for brave conversations. It's brave to let someone know that you need help and to be a mate to help someone in distress.

There are 15 venues in regional South Australia, as well as in other regions that are trialling Glass Empty, and I'm keen to see the outcomes of this grassroots initiative. I'd really like to say thank you to Jonathan Hart and to acknowledge his work. To come from that place of being in suicide distress himself, and thinking about others and thinking about how we can do something different and better—you are a great Australian, Jonathan, and it was an absolute privilege and pleasure to meet you.

If you'd like to know more, visit glassempty.org. And don't forget, if you are feeling distress, Lifeline 131114, if you need to talk to someone,