A new program to try to prevent suicides among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the ACT is set to be launched.
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The scheme, which is currently being set up, will also help the families and friends of those who have taken their own lives.
A specialist organisation - Thirrili - has been contracted to work with Woden Community Service to address what is believed to be a growing problem.
Research indicates that the rate of suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is much higher than that of other groups. Thirrili's chief executive, Annette Vickery, said it was double the rate compared with non-Indigenous people.
She was particularly concerned about the risk of suicide among young people, sometimes children as young as eight.
This is a deeply needed service to prevent suicide.
- Emma Davidson, ACT mental health minister
"The real challenge is finding appropriate counselling for people under 15," she said. There was, for example, a shortage of child psychologists. Thirrili's role would be to offer counsellors from within its own ranks but also to find specialists appropriate to each situation.
The new service would complement the broader health work of the ACT's Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services.
The ACT government has budgeted $2.2 million over four years for the project, and engaged Thirrili, which since 2017 has supported families and communities across Australia. Its emphasis is on "culturally appropriate" help.
Woden Community Service runs its "The Way Back Support Service" which helps people recovering from deep mental distress by:
- providing encouragement and support in the first few months following hospital treatment
- helping people follow a plan after discharge from hospital
- helping them get in touch with a GP and other services
Nationally, death from suicide among Indigenous people has surged in the past decade.
In 2019, the suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 27.1 per 100,000 for NSW, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory combined. The previous year, it was 24.9 per 100,000.
The ACT's minister for mental health Emma Davidson said: "This is a deeply needed service to prevent suicide and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT who are impacted by suicide."
Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, beyondblue on 1300 224 636 or 1800-RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
