More than 60 head office staff of the Hunter based Greater Building Society will take part in the company's first suicide prevention seminars on Wednesday 27 September 2006.

The seminars will be run by Wesley Mission's LifeForce unit. LifeForce is a suicide prevention program aiming to educate and resource communities to be aware of the issues surrounding suicide. This is the first time that LifeForce seminars have been conducted specifically for a financial institution.

Greater Building Society assistant general manager Don Magin says Australia has one of the highest suicide rates in the world so it is important to develop a stronger community and preventative approach to tackling the issue.

"We all need to be better prepared as colleagues, partners, parents, and friends, to respond to those who are at risk of taking their own lives," Mr Magin says.

Government statistics show that every day an average of seven people take their own lives and another 210 attempts are made. Each suicide leaves around 10 to 15 people affected by grief and loss.

"The LifeForce corporate seminars will help our staff to better understand issues related to suicide, dispel myths about suicide, explore the 'road' to suicide, define crisis situations, explain the signals of suicide and identify community resources," he says.

The Greater Building Society is a major sponsor of LifeForce. Thanks to funding from the Greater, community members have been able to attend one day LifeForce workshops in regional NSW and Queensland for free. A seminar was held in Singleton earlier this month. The Greater also prints 'Community Information Cards' detailing local 24-hour crisis numbers, local support services and community support numbers that are provided to seminar and workshop participants.

Seminar facilitator, Adam Lawrence, says over the past five years, more than 7,200 people have attended a LifeForce seminar or workshop. He says prevention techniques are making a positive difference suicide rates.

"Even the smallest intervention can make a difference," Mr Lawrence says.

He says the LifeForce seminars are suitable for any workplace. Seminars are generally two hours long and can be adapted to meet an organisation's specific need.