World Suicide Prevention Day: Pune NGO to spread awareness at workplaces

“The International Association for Suicide Prevention is focusing on two important themes on this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day: suicide and the workplace; creating hope through action and suicide and the media; creating hope through action. At Connecting, we are bringing this year’s theme to workplaces across the city, hosting talks, open conversations and discussions around suicide and anxiety,” said Kajari Mitra, CEO of Connecting. the indian express.

According to Mitra, the premise of these issues is that people spend most of their time in their workplaces. When they are distressed, upset, or depressed, coworkers are more likely to notice changes in their behavior. As a result, if coworkers and team members are mobilized in the workplace, there’s a good chance it will help prevent suicides, Mitra said.

On September 10, Connecting Manager Sandy Dias Andrade and Dr. Aruna Jha will host a virtual discussion on “The Role of Community and Connection in Suicide Prevention.” It will take place on September 9. Through these sessions, along with their extensive social media campaigns, Connecting plans to mobilize their peers and team leaders in the workplace.

Founded in 2005 by a group of Pune citizens led by Arnawaz Damania, Connecting has so far helped more than 2 lakh people in distress. “We use the deep listening technique and give the person a safe space to talk. Calls last from 35 minutes to an hour and a half. These calls are not critical or advisory,” Mitra said.

On the distress helpline 99220-01122/99220-04305 (call between noon and 8 pm), Mitra said, more than half of the calls received from April 2021 to March this year were from women. “The top three concerns were relationship problems, family distress, and mental illness. We received calls from students when the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) exams were postponed. Calls from young people were also about guilt about viewing porn,” she said.

“We classify calls as low, medium and high risk. When it is high risk, we inform the caller’s family members and provide support. As part of the Suicide Survivor Support Program, Connecting reached out to 187 suicide survivors and held 113 sessions on various platforms to raise awareness of suicide. additional.

“Our volunteers are psychology postgraduates as well as working professionals extensively trained in dealing with callers. We support suicide survivors by creating an open supportive environment and conducting active awareness programs in communities and places by educating people about suicide and depression, and building peer support among school-age children ”, said the executive director.

One in 100 deaths worldwide is the result of suicide and it continues to rank among the top 20 leading causes of death globally across all age groups, according to the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

Recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) it has also stated that the number of suicide-related deaths reached an all-time high in 2021 when a total of 1.64 lakh people died by suicide in the country, a 7.2 percent jump as of 2020.