FLO Pasifika for Life- why suicide prevention is important

From July 2019 to June 2020, the FLO Pasifika for Life programme has reached over 14,000 people through 290 participants attending a FLO Talanoa Pasifika suicide prevention workshop, 534 young people and their families increasing their mental health literacy through the Mental Wealth project, and 13,879 users entering real-life problems into the Aunty Dee problem-solving tool.

A highlight for the year was co-facilitating Mental Wealth workshops within the rugby league grassroots community alongside our longstanding partners the New Zealand Vodafone Warriors. The workshops aimed to equip players, coaches, and families with the skills to identify the signs of mental distress, the confidence to check in on a mate, and the knowledge to know where to find the supports and services available.

“The rugby league community has really enjoyed the workshops delivered by the team at Le Va. The groundswell of clubs and teams wanting to do the workshops has only slowed by the impact of Covid-19 and one coach said they wish they had done it earlier in the year – the tools for maintaining wellbeing that Le Va shared was a big hit,” says Vodafone Warriors Welfare and Education Manager, Jerry Seuseu.

With the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the FLO Programme undertook steps to find innovative ways to both meet the growing demand from the community, as well as the impact on workshop deliveries. Four digital workshops via Zoom were trialled, receiving positive feedback from participants, increasing the programme’s delivery modalities to new and exciting heights.

Over the next 12 months, the FLO Programme will continue to focus on Pasifika families, ensuring they are well equipped to know how to prevent suicide, by communicating well with each, increasing their sense of strong cultural identity, connecting often with others, growing as a strong family and finding hope and courage through spirituality.