When Ross Romeo lost a close friend to suicide in 2005, he went searching for answers, ultimately leading him to his role with Community Response to Eliminating Suicide (CORES).
“At the time, you just go into survival mode, do what you can and get through as best you can and later on, when things settled down, the questions started coming along so I went looking for some answers,” Mr Romeo said.
CORES is a community-based program relying on volunteers to educate members of the community on how to intervene when they encounter a person they believe may be suicidal.
Originating in regional Tasmania, the program held its first training session in the Burdekin in 2008 thanks to Peter Shadforth.
“I went along and found it quite easy to understand and practical,” Mr Romeo said.
“While it didn’t change what had happened, it definitely helped me understand it better.”
A cane farmer of over 30 years, Mr Romeo trained to become a facilitator which led him to his role as Queensland Coordinator and Counsellor.
He now leads the program that provides suicide prevention training and free counselling to the Burdekin and surrounding regions.
“We give people some basic skills to know what to look out for and, more importantly, what to say, what to do and where to go for help,” Mr Romeo said.
“The rural communities are open to it and want to take ownership, so the training gives them some skills to help them recognise that they can’t fix anything for anyone - in the end change has got to come from the individual - our job as a friend or community member is to create the environment for that and help people unlock the tools.”
Up until two years ago, the program was reliant on fundraising and community donations, for which Mr Romeo thanked the Burdekin community.
“While the money raised here stays here, it has helped lift our profile which then gets people wanting more information from different communities and that’s how we’ve been able to spread,” he said.
“What was started here in the Burdekin has reached a long way, so people don’t know what good they’ve done not just for this community but a lot of other communities.”
Being a community-led organisation, CORES relies on volunteers to facilitate its training sessions.
“The volunteers are everything to us,” Mr Romeo said.
“I really admire them; they give up their time simply because they want to give something back and stand in a room and talk to people about such a heavy subject.
“It’s a big job, but we’ve got a lot of terrific facilitators here in the Burdekin and other communities.”
CORES will be holding a training session in the Burdekin before the end of the year.
To learn more, visit cores.org.au/queensland or email coresqld@kentishrc.com.au.
If this story raises any issues, please visit your regular GP, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, contact CORES on 0427 455 313 or, in a crisis, present to an emergency department.
CORES Queensland Coordinator Ross Romeo
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