A thousand cards with the emergency numbers of various organisations will shortly be issued to students at All Saints College, St Joseph’s Campus, Lochinvar – the first school in the Maitland area to use them.
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The cards contain the numbers of Lifeline, the emergency services, Kids Help Line, Mensline Australia, Suicide Call Back Service, Maitland Hospital, 24-Hour Mental Health Emergency, and Drug and Alcohol Information Service.
Six thousand cards have also been issued to TAFE campuses in Maitland, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Singleton, Muswellbrook and Scone.
A thousand cards were issued to students at both Cessnock’s Mt View and St Phillip’s high schools last week as well as Kurri Kurri High School students.
The distribution of the cards was arranged through Maitland Suicide Prevention Network, whose chairman Steve Schumacher expected other schools in the area to embrace the program.
“We feel the time is right for the adoption of these cards now, this being a stressful period for many students during this year’s HSC exams,” Mr Schumacher said.
“It is also the month of mental awareness.
“We are presently talking to several other schools in Maitland who hope to issue cards to their students soon.”
The cards are similar to the 3000 issued to taxi drivers in the Maitland area by the Maitland Suicide Prevention Network some months ago.
“We ordered enough cards to give to every one of our students, with some left over,” St Joseph’s learning support co-ordinator Hayley Amm said. “This being Mental Health Month, we believe it is very important for students to keep these numbers with them.
“Sometimes we don’t know about struggles children are having.
“Some students may put the cards away and never need them, but these cards are for the children who do [need them].
“Our staff are also very happy that our students have these cards to use as a back-up when they are unable to talk to anyone.”
The number for Lifeline is 131 114.