‘Don't want to do it': Jason King's commitment after daughter Jordan Liberty's suicide death
Jason King would give anything to have those difficult, awkward conversations with his daughter. Even the toughest talk is easier than facing the silence of her death.
Mr King lost his daughter Jordan Liberty to suicide and while he would prefer to keep his grief to himself, he knows talking about it can save others.
Within hours of posting on social media about his plan to make a documentary honouring Jordan, Mr King received a very special message.
'It was from a young person who saw my post just at the right time,' he told news.com.au.
'That person was about to go off social media, delete accounts, preparing for the end but seeing the post stopped it.
'Knowing it has already helped one person is motivating, as hard as it is for me. I really don't want to do it but the more we talk about it, the more we can make change.'
Mr King said there are so many things he wishes he could go back and say to 18-year-old Jordan.
'I would say I love you, I miss you every day. I'm doing this for you. I'm making this film because your life mattered,' he said.
'I want others to feel the love you couldn't always feel for yourself. You couldn't stay but your story can still help others.'
He wishes he could say 'tomorrow will be better' but he knows Jordan must have had many of those better tomorrows, just not enough to keep her alive.
The documentary will explore Jordan's journal notes, her friendships, her trials and triumphs.
'The doco is inspired by a desire to find out more about who she was, unpack what happened to her and really focus on how we can find joy and hope in the aftermath of something like this,' said her grieving dad who has learnt to be kind to himself.
'That has meant being sober for the last 18 months,' he said.
'Like so many Australians, especially blokes, I self-medicated in unhealthy ways to try to get through hard times. This increased as I grieved Jordan, and I realised that if I was going to honour her life, make it count, I needed to get real about howI was turning up in my own life.
'The difference has been profound. By being more present and having a better relationship with myself, it has improved all my other relationships, including with my two other children now aged 12 and 15, and the one I now have with Jordan's memory and how I deal with the ongoing grief. It's made the difficult talks I still have to have so much easier.'
New research by News Corp's Growth Distillery with Medibank found two thirds of 18- to 30-year-olds say they would find it hard to tell their parents or older close family members that they are struggling with mental wellbeing.
For that age group, parents are the number one relationship that they wish they could talk to more, with almost half saying so.
Half of all parents of 16- to 30-year-olds said they would find it hard to tell their children they were having challenges or struggling with mental wellbeing.
Mr King says for people living in regional Australia, the problems seem to be amplified.
'Being in a remote area or small town when we lose someone, particularly a young person, it can impact the whole community,' he said.
Mr King wants other parents and young people to know it's never too late.
He will make sure Jordan's death is not in vain.
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