Jo Drayton The National Suicide Prevention Conference 2024

Jo Drayton

Jo has worked in primary mental health and suicide prevention for over two decades. Her position as Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Coordinator is funded by the Mental Health Commission’s via the WA Suicide Prevention Framework 2021 – 2025. Her position is auspiced by Holyoake. Jo’s position covers the entire Wheatbelt region of Western Australia (220+ communities and 43 Local Government Area’s). Jo is an accredited Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention, Rural Minds and safeTALK (Living Works) and Accidental Counsellor facilitator and collaborates with a variety of stakeholders/agencies and communities in her work in mental health and wellbeing & suicide prevention which has culminated in the development of Community Wellbeing Plans. Jo also supports Postvention responses which provide support to families, workplaces, sporting clubs and communities bereaved by suicide. Professional Self Care and Workplace Wellbeing also falls within her portfolios. Jo is the Chair of the Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Advisory Forum committee and the Wheatbelt Human Services Managers Forum and is a standing member of the Wheatbelt District Leadership Group (DLG). Jo also coordinates/moderates the Wheatbelt Professionals Wellbeing Portal and the Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Project and co-produces Yirra Koorl – the Wheatbelt Prevention & Wellbeing Newsletter. During her time in the sector, Jo has had the opportunity to present at National and International Conferences about her work. More recently she was invited by the Minister of Mental Health and the Mental Health Commissioner to join a steering committee that developed our current WA Suicide Prevention Framework 2021 to 2025. In 2020 Jo was appointed as one of the WA Representatives on Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) State-wide Committees. She has recently presented at the National Suicide Prevention Conference in both Canberra and Adelaide and the National Rural Mental Health Conference in Cairns on the work that she undertakes. Jo’s work has been acknowledged by her peers and the sector, receiving 9 State Awards for Excellence in Suicide Prevention, Postvention, Injury Prevention, Harm Reduction and Health Promotion. Jo has most recently been appointed as the Chair of Suicide Prevention Australia’s State Committee for WA.