The Rotary Club of Gosford North SOKS (Save Our Kids from Suicide) project celebrated 10 years of success with the return of its 2023 Benefactors and Beneficiaries Dinner in March.
In 2011, members of the Gosford North club acknowledged the issue of youth suicide on the Central Coast. Using funds generated by a previous project, the club entered a partnership with Central Coast Lifeline and SOKS was born.
Over the past decade, the SOKS project has given more than 5,000 people, including school staff, teachers, welfare workers and counsellors, skills in identifying young people at risk of suicide and how to have conversations with young people to keep them safe while they get the support they need.
The SOKS project has two arms: suicide prevention and youth enrichment. Both arms either save or enhance the lives of young people on the Central Coast.
The annual B&B Dinner provides an opportunity for the beneficiaries to meet and thank the benefactors.
“At our 2019 dinner, NSW Minister for Mental Health, Bronnie Taylor, and Member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch, both spoke of our project in glowing terms and promised assistance,” said SOKS committee member Lance Harrigan. “This commitment took over two years to materialise, but in 2021 the NSW Government provided SOKS in Sports with funding of $130,625, which encouraged an extra $70,000 from benefactors dedicated to community training and leadership programs.”
The SOKS in Sport program was conceived as a result of members of the Central Coast Rugby Union approaching Lifeline requesting help after their rugby family lost four lives to suicide (three players and one official). SOKS devised a plan to make each rugby club suicide safer, providing programs for officials, players and parents of players.
SOKS provides a number of other suicide prevention programs, including safeTALK, ASIST, Self-harm Awareness, and Skills for Parents. Feed back from those who have taken part in the programs is overwhelmingly positive.
“Less than two weeks after I completed my training, my daughter took an overdose that was intended to end her life. After that, I have used my ASIST training more than seven times to discuss her thoughts of suicide. I never thought I would be using the training so quickly or so personally,” said one participant.
“Since attending ASIST, I have had the opportunity to talk to my postman about his son attempting suicide as well as my 14-year-old son, whose friend at school attempted suicide. ASIST has given me confidence to listen and hold space for people and share some of my learning with my son for him to better support his friend,” said another.
In addition to its suicide prevention programs, each year SOKS funds young people from across the Central Coast to attend leadership and other courses. These include RYLA (Rotary Young Leaders Awards), RYPEN (Rotary Young Person), HESS (Honeywell Engineering), NYSF (National Youth Science Forum) and ESS (Engineering). So far more than 200 young people have benefited from SOKS-funded youth enrichment courses.