Excerpt from ‘The Tide’ Issue 18, 17 October 2019
The Rotary Club of Frankston reported in their bulletin, “The Tide”, on a talk given by their guest speaker Cameron Oates and chaired by Roger Oates.The Oates family has experienced great sadness in the last 12 months, following the loss of their son/brother Troy, as a result of mental health issues.
As expected, there were some elements of emotion as Cameron described the lead up to Troy’s loss. He handled it all extremely well (as did Roger). His presenting skills were exceptional, as he spoke with great passion and had the room mesmerised.
Cameron pointed out that his subject is very emotional for everyone, not only those directly impacted. He suggested the best way to deal with this was with statistics.
Data he presented included the fact that 800,000 people worldwide die each year as a result of suicide. For everyone who dies, there have been many, many attempts prior (often more than 20). So, you can see we are dealing with an epidemic.
It is admirable that the “Oates Clan” has responded to this adversity by converting the negative energy generated by tragedy into action. They are in the process of forming a foundation called, “U Alright Mate”, to assist those dealing with mental health issues and to educate everyone into identifying those at risk and then providing support.
