ThumbsUp4Cohen - Suicide Prevention is Everyone's Business

10/09/2025

I am the mother of a child who died by su***de.

Every night I go to bed thinking of my child and every morning I wake up and the nightmare starts all over again.

“My child died by su***de.”

A phrase I never thought I would utter but how many parents would think they would. It’s unimaginable losing a child but losing a child to su***de brings with it so many different challenges. Stigma, judgement, and shame which all comes from a real lack of empathy and misunderstanding surrounding the complexity of su***de.

Ask any parent who has lost a child to su***de and they will tell you that they just want to raise awareness of su***de loss to prevent other families from experiencing the heartbreak of losing a child to su***de. I sometimes wonder if I’m making an impact, if I’m even helping by sharing our family’s experiences and sharing Cohen’s life.

I truly and sincerely hope I am.

Today is WORLD SU***DE PREVENTION DAY, one day of the year purely dedicated to highlighting the importance of preventing su***de and reminding us all that we need to look out for others and speak up for those who may not be able to speak for themselves.

Don’t be fooled though, su***de prevention needs to happen EVERYDAY.

My life, as a mother who has lost a child to su***de, has been irrevocably changed as I travel this new path of a never-ending intensely painful expanse of having to live the rest of my life without my youngest child. My hope now by sharing Cohen’s life is that I am raising much needed awareness of su***de prevention.

Cohen’s su***de could’ve been prevented, we all know this and yet he was let down in his life and is continually being let down in his death by others that should always protect and support a child. He did matter, he mattered so much and he still matters and to those that wish to forget him, I will NEVER stop speaking his name.

Cohen Fink 👍🏻💙

SU***DE PREVENTION IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS

I love you Cohen x

10/09/2025

WORLD SU***DE PREVENTION DAY

A day that reminds us that su***de prevention needs to be EVERYDAY.

- Everyday in Australia 9 people will die by su***de, 7 of them will be men.

- Su***de is the leading cause of death for young people.

- 3249 people died by su***de in 2023.

- 1 in 2 young people will be impacted by su***de by the time they turn 25.

- The rate of su***de amongst young First Nations is three times that of non-indigenous Australians.

SU***DE PREVENTION IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS

09/09/2025

👍🏻💙

09/09/2025

Dear Charlotte,

Today marks one year since you left us — and though time moves forward, we have not.

There are no words big enough to explain how much you are missed. Your mum and I think about you every minute of every single day. We still listen for your footsteps in the hall, wait to hear your voice calling momma from another room, and sometimes, in the quiet moments, we hear your laughter, your sneezes and imagine your arms around us again.

You were only twelve — but in those twelve years, you gave us a lifetime of love. You were gentle, creative, bright, and most importantly full of kindness. You had a way of seeing the world that was uniquely yours. Whether it was your quiet strength, your beautiful imagination, or the way you looked out for others — you left an imprint on everyone who knew you.

We will never stop loving you, Charlotte. You will always be our little girl, our queen B Diva, the star on top of the Christmas tree, our heartbeat. And though you are not here in the way we wish you were, your presence is everywhere — in the stillness of the morning, the rainbows in the sky, the stars at night, the butterflies that fly by, the memories we carry, and the love that will never fade.

Your absence has left a space that nothing can ever fill. But it has also left us with a purpose: to love more deeply, to listen more carefully, to make you proud every single day and to make your wish a reality.

We will carry you with us for the rest of our lives. And one day, when our own journeys are done, we will hold you again.

With all our love,
Dad and mum
“Everybody matters, everyday”

09/09/2025

You can polish a turd all you want but until you acknowledge that more could have been done for Cohen, your words mean nothing. No one asked Cohen if he was ok and apparently that was fine. Yet here we have the very people that didn't ask Cohen if he was okay telling everyone to ask R U OK? Standing around with big smiles and in dress ups knowing you failed our child. I didn't know R U OK day was supposed to make you feel ill.

So if anyone asks me today R U OK? I will simply reply, "No I am not."

08/09/2025

Breathtaking ignorance…

Absolutely correct, su***de IS all too prevalent in our community, particularly amongst the young. I have never heard a more true statement, su***de IS way too prevalent. Hearing the judge say this at our Supreme Court hearing just floored me, I almost got up and walked out, I thought what are doing here if the judge can make comments like that it felt like we were wasting our time.

We have fought so hard for there to be an inquest into Cohen’s death, we have had some unbelievable and incredibly insensitive things said to us by the Coroner, the Department of Education and even our government and yet not one of them have ever said anything in support of our quest to have an Inquest. Not one, they have all flat out denied us any chance of having questions answered and investigating the clear systemic issues that are prevalent in the education system. The Coroner has not acknowledged any of the evidence we have raised, they have refuted everything but they have agreed and defended everything the Department of Education have said and even unequivocally agreed with them that Cohen’s school was under no obligation to alert us to what he did in his exams.

No one has ever been on our side and advocated for Cohen, no one has ever stood up and advocated for all mentally unwell children across our state, no one.

Is there enough public interest for there to be an inquest into Cohen’s death?

We believe there is, a lot of people believe there is. The only ones who think there is no public interest are the Department of Education, the Coroner and the government, one would think that they would want to prevent su***des not excuse behaviours of individuals who had a moral, ethical and duty of care obligation to help a child. They should want an Inquest, they should want to improve processes and close gaps, they should want to work with us to prevent what happened with Cohen from ever happening again, they should want to prevent su***des.

I wonder how they would feel if it was their child? To be told that their child’s life was not worth anything. I would hope that every child's life was important and everyone would work together to help every child. Maybe that just doesn't apply to our child because it certainly feels that way.

08/09/2025

Worth a reshare.

07/09/2025

👍🏻💙

05/09/2025

“How can you blame the school?”
(I can blame them because they failed to alert us of their concerns)

“That mother is just looking for someone to blame.”
(I challenge any mother not to feel the same in my shoes)

“You cannot blame anyone but yourselves.”
(Do they not think we haven’t questioned ourselves)

“Schools and teachers are too busy to worry about individual students.”
(There were 8 kids in Cohen’s class)

“He was probably going to do it anyway.”
(How would they know that?)

“The exams were probably looked at after he died.”
(They were all looked at in the exam week)

“The school cannot be held to account for the choice Cohen made.”
(They can be held to account for not following correct procedures from the moment I informed them of Cohen’s anxiety and depression)

“How could she leave it for the school to fix him.”
(I didn’t, I just asked them to support him)

“Cohen was never classed as a risk student.”
(Because the school failed to follow instructions from the school psychologist)

“I’m sure the school feels bad.”
(I would hope they do but their actions proved otherwise)

These are just a few of the comments that have been thrown at us since losing Cohen. There have been far worse comments but these are the ones that mostly stick with us.

Blame is a common phrase that is thrown at us and I am more than sick of it. If we are to prevent su***de, then we all must be aware of any changes or signs in someone. Cohen sat on the couch the night before he died, telling me and his siblings that he wanted to have kids with his girlfriend. We truly had no idea what was awaiting us the next morning.

Go back to the week before Cohen’s death and he was doing his midyear ATAR exams and we all know what happened there. And then to read what was in the Freedom of Information, finally some answers to questions we had been asking since Cohen died, and my heart just broke all over again. The school had vital information that we didn’t and they did NOTHING.

What we want to know is why if the school had concerns for Cohen’s mental health, why did they not contact us? And why if the Department knew all this why did they keep it from us? We want to know why the Department of Education refuses to acknowledge failures and always support the schools.

We want to know why the Department of Education continually fail to support children?





***depreventioniseveryonesbusiness

04/09/2025