Appointed as WA State Member for Suicide Prevention Australia | Michael Elwan

For those who know me, suicide prevention is deeply personal. Losing my mother to suicide reshaped my life and my understanding of grief, healing, and purpose. It set me on the path I walk today.

With humility and determination, I’m honoured to share that I have been appointed as a WA State Member for Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), the nation’s peak body for suicide prevention.

The State and Territory Committees play a vital role in strengthening community insight, guiding policy, and identifying systemic gaps across Australia. They help shape the national approach by bringing jurisdictional experiences and lived expertise into the heart of suicide prevention strategy.

In my role on the WA Committee, I will contribute to evidence-informed decision-making, support analysis of regional impacts, and help build local capacity through collaboration, advocacy, and community engagement. This is an opportunity to ensure that lived experience is not peripheral but central to shaping suicide prevention efforts across Western Australia.

My journey to becoming a WA State Member for Suicide Prevention Australia has been shaped by personal loss, professional dedication, and a belief in the power of collective action. I am committed to honouring my mother’s memory by advocating for compassionate, effective, and community-led suicide prevention approaches.

Together, we can drive systemic change, support those most vulnerable, and create a future where connection, dignity, and hope sit at the centre of care.

LEXs is Michael Elwan's Perth-based practice, working online across Australia. Services include training and workshops, lived experience consultancy, Social Work Supervision, Lived Experience Leadership Supervision, Frontline Supervision, therapy and keynote speaking. Training and workshops can be commissioned for organisational leaders, practitioners and frontline teams, and carers, families and communities. Explore LEXs services.