Do you know what to do in the event of a student suicide? Please familiarise yourself with the new procedure, and contact the team at Te Puna Waiora, Health and Counselling if you’re concerned about a student’s welfare.
Suicide is a tragic and distressing event that will potentially have a far-reaching impact on our students and staff. It’s important that all educational providers have a thoughtful and planned approach to suicide prevention and postvention.
If a student has died by suicide, Unitec’s response will focus on providing psychological support, facilitating the grieving process in a culturally responsive way and reducing the risk of future suicides. If you’re notified of a student’s death, please report it immediately to Clint Hill, GM of Health and Safety, who will coordinate the organisational response.
There is support available from within and outside Unitec for students experiencing distress or needing extra help to navigate the demands of life and study.
The Wellbeing team runs workshops for staff on how to support distressed students and if you have a specific concern, such as managing stress and anxiety within a classroom setting, have a chat to the team about running a special workshop.
If you’re concerned about the welfare of a student, please don’t hesitate to call the team at Te Puna Waiora, Health and Counselling on 0800 10 85 10 for advice and support – ask to speak to someone about an urgent matter and a nurse or counsellor will assist you.
For more information, contact Erin McGuinness, Manager of Student Wellbeing on emcguinness@unitec.ac.nz.
Thanks Unitec. This is what we must need to help students who are distressed by problems (personal, family, academic etc) and at the same time tackle the issue that affects anyone regardless of social class and appearances: suicide. It is time we play a part in talking about it especially reaching out to students who hail from cultural backgrounds where suicide is too taboo or shameful to talk about.