A group that is committed to reducing suicide in the Orange will meet on Thursday so it can expand its involvement in order to reach its goal.
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The Orange Region Suicide Prevention Network has organised RUOK Day? for the past few years as well as running awareness campaigns and workshops in the area.
Treasurer Ann Dib said the group has been running for about eight years and is part of the Wesley Lifeforce Australia wide network.
She said it plans to expand its involvement to provide relevant information to all people to build resilience and understanding about good mental health and support people with lived experience of suicide.
Ms Dib said the group's members include people who work in mental health fields, people with lived experience of suicide and others who just wanted to help.
"We try to do one project a year because that's all people who are working full-time could manage," Ms Dib said.
The Orange Region Suicide Prevention Network will host its annual general meeting at the NEAMI National office (North Eastern Alliance for the Mentally Ill) at 63 Hill Street on Thursday at 1pm.
Ms Dib said the group would host a planning meeting for its future projects after the AGM including the best way to use money donated by Newcrest's Cadia Valley Operations.
"We want to work with first responders, we want to know if they want stuff," she said.
Ms Dib is encouraging more people to get involved with the group and said they did not have to be professionals.
"We want to move forward with people who want to get involved," she said.
"They just need to be people who want to work towards the lower rates of suicide."
The group was also involved at the Pit stop 10 point health check at the Australian National Field Days last year and Ms Dib said it was also previously involved in running a program aimed at helping families learn how to approach people who they were concerned for.
"In the last four to five years we've really put our efforts into RUOK," Ms Dib said.
Contact Sharon Taylor 0434 330 760 for more information.
If you need help you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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