It would come as little surprise to hear that in the hours and days since the Christchurch shooting the calls to mental health services in New Zealand have risen dramatically. The director-general of New Zealand's Ministry of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the country's mental health line had received five times the usual volume of calls since last Friday's terror attack.
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"There has been a significant increase in use of that line from people both in Canterbury, and from around the country," he told media in New Zealand. "They are staffed up to accommodate and respond to those calls."
Events such as these can have broad-reaching and long-lasting implications. Certainly the tragedy has been deeply felt around this country as well as new Zealand, especially in our Muslim community. One of the key things people can do at this time is talk to each other and offer each other support. Vigils like those happening around the country offer an opportunity for people to come together and send their support to Christchurch, but also to come together as a community united at a time of great grief.
A strong turnout attended a special vigil in Wollongong on Monday night to send their support and love to Christchurch. It was a diverse crowd in terms of ages and backgrounds, all united as one. The messages from the people in the crowd were as powerful as the messages delivered on stage.
"I refuse to be made to feel scared, so coming to this is a crowd where you can feel like everybody is united in their distress," said Diane Olney of Mangerton told the Illawarra Mercury. "You can't let acts of horror like this define our shared humanity, we really have to just keep showing how much we care for each other," Wollongong's Sharon Callaghan said. Powerful statements delivered at the best possible time.
National 24/7 Crisis Services _ Lifeline: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 79 www.mensline.org.au Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 www.beyondblue.org.au