URGENT: Donations needed to help domestic violence survivor

Hello everyone,

Please go here and donate if you can to help out Stephanie:

http://community.livejournal.com/needagooddeed/6615.html

She's trying to raise money to move far away to escape an abusive ex partner. She has already taken a restraining order against him and has been to a women's shelter. Any donations or advice on where to go from here would be much appreciated. Thank you so much for helping. Even if you just spread the word.

Read below to find out more:

Hi, my name is Stephanie and I have a very small, but big wish:

I want to have the money to pay for my car and get far from where I am...
I have a restraining order on him, I've been to a battered woman's shelter (that was just ridiculous and did could do nothing to help me), but that's not going to protect me. A piece of paper can't save me.

I'm too scared to sleep at my parent's house, every small sound I hear, I jump and start to have a panic attack, thinking he's coming back.

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R U OK day - how to talk about suicide

Hi everyone,

Check this website out:

http://www.ruokday.com.au/p_How_To_Have_A_Conversation.aspx

r u OK day is held on November 29th, 2009. It is an annual national day of action that aims to get Australians, right across the entire spectrum of society, connecting with friends and loved ones, by reaching out to anyone doing it tough and simply asking: “Are you ok?”

Why start a conversation? Research shows talking about suicide with someone at risk actually reduces the chances of them taking their life. It is the one thing we can all do to make a real difference. R U OK?Day is about prevention, preventing little problems turning into big problems. So it is not just about asking those at immediate risk.

The lj cut contains tips from Lifeline on how to talk about suicide with other people. Please read. You could end up saving a life if you use this advice.

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Lifeline Self Help Kits for traumatic situations

Hi all and sundry,

Check out these self help kits from Lifeline:

http://www.lifeline.org.au/find_help/info_service/toolkits

They're short and simple. Anyone can use them. They're more directed at ordinary lay people. But health professionals might also find them handy. The kits are aimed at Australians. I still think some of the advice can be applied to anyone, regardless where they're living, though. So if you've got spare time, please consider giving the kits a look over. It's seriously worth it.

They have information on which services to contact for specific traumatic or stressful situations, including natural disasters. There's also simple information on easy things you can do to assist someone going through a crisis. The self help kits include information on coping with:

-suicide
-stress
-natural disasters (droughts and bushfires)
-domestic violence
-mental illness
-depression
-ADHD

There are also Aboriginal Australian specific self help tool kits on how to help people dealing with depression, grief, loss and suicide.