Mount Alexander Shire has a statistically significant higher rate of suicide compared to the Australian rate. In response to these statistics Castlemaine District Community Health (CDCH) and Central Victorian Primary Care Partnership (CVPCP) organised a community forum to discuss suicide concerns within Mount Alexander. Over 60 community members attended the forum and the suicide prevention community network, Every Life Matters (ELM), was subsequently established.
CVPCP successfully applied for a Murray PHN tender to develop a local, evidence-based integrated suicide prevention action plan on behalf of the Mount Alexander Suicide Response Network and ELM.