LOST PARENT TO SUICIDE, NOW A CHAMPION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
Ashlee Harrison is the founder and CEO of Zero 2 Hero, a West Australian based charity that provides mental health and suicide prevention programs to youth across the state. According to statistics suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians under the age of 44 years. Suicide is caused by mental illness and 75% of it is formed before the age of 25.
Ashlee has become a champion for mental health and suicide having suffered the devastating loss of her step-father Graham to suicide in 2008. Ashlee’s work in the community hasn’t gone unnoticed, in 2015, she was recognised by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s 100 women of influence and was also awarded a Pride of Australia Medal in the same year. In 2013, Ashlee won the WA Youth Award for Education and as a Young Australian of the year finalist.
Airing 21 October
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“We didn’t grow up with much. We lived from pay cheque to pay cheque. Mum definitely struggled financially for a lot of her life.”
WORDS FROM ASHLEE
“I thought that rockiness and arguing in a relationship was normal.”
#AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
Graham spoke from a place of not being good enough or feeling like a burden on his family.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
Drug abuse and alcohol abuse were also big red flags.”
#AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
“A lifetime of chronic pain and financial worries we’re all big signs of mental illness and suicide.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
“Am so grateful I swallowed my pride and I forgave him for anything that had happened 15 years prior and 6 months later, he died.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
“What makes suicide more difficult than any other form of death or grief is that it is preventable.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
“Suicide is at a 10 year high at the moment and we are not going to prevent it unless we start talking about it.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
I want mental health to be in the school curriculum and be a mandatory subject that you learn throughout school.” #AshleeHarrison #Zero2Hero #TrueLifeStoriesTV
