ARBOR - Active Response Bereavement OutReach

The Active Response Bereavement OutReach or ARBOR service was developed to provide timely counselling, peer support, support groups and referral advice to people bereaved by suicide.
The service was developed in 2007 and launched in October.

For every death by suicide it is estimated that up to 10 people are intimately affected by the loss and many more through extended family networks, workplaces and social circles.
People bereaved by suicide are more at risk of suicide themselves.

Our research
On average there are over 250 deaths by suicide each year in Western Australia, leaving at least 2,500 people grieving and many more affected by these losses. Most commonly if people bereaved by suicide try to seek help they find it difficult to navigate through both their grief and the lack of appropriate resources and services. This can be a very frustrating process as people are often referred from one service to another and then another.

ARBOR aims to help those newly bereaved to access the support, resources and assistance they need while reducing the isolation often felt at this time. ARBOR accepts referrals from agencies in the Perth area and has an established referral relationship with the Coronial Counselling Service. Individuals and families can also refer themselves and/or a family member or friend. ARBOR will be evaluated on an ongoing basis to enable us to assess how well ARBOR is helping those bereaved by suicide and if shown to be effective, ARBOR could be extended to other communities.