The Illawarra Mercury's suicide prevention campaign was recognised with a major Australasian award in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It is the second major award for the Care to QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer campaign which ran over three months late in 2018.
The Mercury's head of news and health reporter Lisa Wachsmuth was presented with the award at the 2019 Mental Health Service Awards of Australia and New Zealand for service to mental health.
It was awarded the text journalism award and was one of three awards made in the media category.
The awards were announced at the annual The Mental Health Services Conference held in Brisbane.
Ms Wachsmuth was presented with the award by The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, Federal Minister for Health.
The Mental Health Service Awards of Australia and New Zealand are presented every year by The Mental Health Services Learning Network to recognise and encourage best practice, excellence and innovation in mental health service delivery. The awards have been presented annually since 1992.
The campaign also won the media award at the 2019 LiFE Awards in Melbourne earlier this year and is nominated for an award at the 2019 News Media Awards to be announced in Sydney next month.
The Mercury campaign was run in conjunction with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative.
The campaign told the deeply personal stories of local people and their lived experiences with suicide, but also had a call to action for the community to undertake the latest online training course in suicide prevention.
Over the course of the three-month campaign more than 3000 people enrolled and completed the QPR training.
Ms Wachsmuth also delivered an address to the national conference about the campaign.
You can view a video of the campaign which was played at the national conference online at illawarramercury.com.au.
For support call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511