Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, and in light of this we thought it would be appropriate to share a film we worked on earlier this year with the Housing Industry Association Charitable Foundation in Australia. A huge thank you to Trevor Renison for sharing his very personal experience and story with us.
In Australia, construction workers are twice as likely to commit suicide than people in other industries, and industry apprentices are two and a half times more likely to commit suicide than other young people their age. These alarming statistics are one of the reasons the HIACF reached out to us, in the hope of creating a film with a story and a message loud enough that it would be heard by the people who are most at risk.
The film was screened at both the National Apprenticeship Awards and also the National Housing Awards, and is now shown to every single Australian apprentice during their training. It is my hope that this film will shed some light on the topic of suicide, and the signs to not only look out for but act on, if you happen to recognize them in friends, family or colleagues who may be suffering in silence.
