NSW leaves bereaved children without suicide support, tripling their risk
Children bereaved by parental suicide face three times the suicide risk themselves, but NSW has no systematic support pathway.
A Newcastle woman is launching a pilot support program after discovering NSW has no pathway to help children who lose a parent to suicide. Karissa Lewis lost her mother to suicide at age 10 and spent years working with families after suicide deaths.
Children who experience this trauma are invisible to the system. More than 900 people die by suicide yearly in NSW.
In the Hunter, the figure is about 140 people a year. Research shows children bereaved by parental suicide face about three times the risk of suicide themselves.
Lewis's pilot program, based in the Hunter, will offer non-clinical support directly to children. It will work with their families and help schools respond.
Support will be led by people with lived experience and focus on connection and friendship, not just counselling.
Why it mattersChildren who lose a parent to suicide are at severe risk themselves but get no formal help, leaving them isolated and vulnerable.
AustraliaMore than 900 people die by suicide in NSW annually. A Hunter-based pilot could become a model for identifying and supporting thousands of bereaved children across Australia.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
