Evaluation of a novel approach to preventing railway suicides: the community stations project

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe an evaluation of the Community Stations Project. The Community Stations Project was designed to address railway suicides in two ways: by improving the station environment in a manner that might improve community members’ feelings of wellbeing; and raising community members’ awareness of poor mental health and likelihood of reaching out to at-risk individuals. It involved four types of interventions (arts and culture, music, food and coffee, and “special events”) delivered at four stations in Victoria. Design/methodology/approach: A short anonymous survey was administered to community members on iPads at the four participating railway stations..