Nurse Kirstie Lore and director of prevocational education and training at Wollongong Hospital Dr Rockey Lui.
When it comes to preventing suicide, the actions of the region's health professionals speak volumes.
Staff from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute and the University of Wollongong's Graduate School of Medicine have handed over hundreds of paperbacks for Lifeline South Coast's charity book fair.
The health district (ISLHD) sent out the call last month to its workforce to donate books and chief executive Sue Browbank said the response had been overwhelming.
"ISLHD is delighted to be supporting this wonderful initiative, designed to raise much-needed funds for Lifeline's suicide prevention programs including telephone counselling and community education," Mrs Browbank said.
"ISLHD works closely with a number of organisations to promote the health and well-being of our community and Lifeline plays a crucial role in suicide intervention," she said.
Representatives will be at the Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley, today to collect donations and stack tables with books ready for sale tomorrow.
Lifeline South Coast Executive Director Grahame Gould said books could be brought to the stadium, today between 7.30am and 5pm. The fair runs until Sunday. "We thank everyone who has already donated. It's not too late to hand in your unwanted books," Mr Gould said.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show 2361 people committed suicide in 2010 - more than six per day.
It is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15-44.
In the 12 months to August this year, Lifeline answered more than 500,000 calls for help.
