Free Republic

Don Ritchie has used simple kindness to shepherd countless suicidal people away from the edge HIS great success at coaxing dozens of people back from the brink of death has earned Donald Ritchie recognition as Australia's Local Hero for 2011. Mr Ritchie, who lives opposite the infamous Sydney suicide spot, The Gap, has talked more than 160 people out of taking their lives there. His strategy: simply to offer a cup of tea and chat back at his place. Named the Local Hero at a ceremony in Canberra today, the National Australia Day Council said Mr Ritchie's tangible efforts to...