NACCHO is marking World Mental HealthDay by emphasising the importance of the 2019 theme and focus, suicideprevention.
In Australia, the rate of suicide inAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continues to grow. NACCHO CEOPat Turner AM said, “Our people experience very high levels of psychologicalstress at almost three times the rate of other Australians and are twice aslikely to commit suicide.
“At the heart of suicide is a sense of helplessnessand powerlessness, which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleexperience across multiple domains in direct response to their intractablecircumstances. Almost all of our people who die of suicide are living below thepoverty line.”
Ms Turner also highlighted the mostvulnerable victims of this mental health crisis: “Our children are four timesmore likely to kill themselves in comparison with other Australian children. In2018, suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander children, accounting for more than a quarter of all Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander child deaths.”
NACCHO believes that suicide prevention initiatives mustincorporate culturally safe, holistic approaches thatare co-designed with communities, and which consider the physical, emotional,spiritual and cultural wellbeing of individuals and families.
ProfessorPat Dudgeon, Director of the Centre ofBest Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide PreventionDirector, said, “The evidence showsthat Indigenous cultural strengths already provide an overarching foundationfor the national effort ahead. These strengths contribute to what we call our’social and emotional wellbeing’. Strong families, strong communities andstrong cultures and cultural identity support Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander mental (and indeed physical) health.”
There is a range of evidence which demonstrates thatcommunity-led initiatives, exemplified by the values, beliefs and services ofAboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), are critical fordesigning programs that strengthen Social and Emotional Wellbeing and promotehealing.
Ms Turner stated, “Our ACCHOs deliver culturally safe,trauma-informed services in communities dealing with the extreme social andeconomic disadvantage that are affected by intergenerational trauma, but theyneed more support. Our services know what’s happening on the ground, and thehelp that our communities need and that is why government funding is so vital.”
NACCHO understands harnessing the globalmomentum on World Mental Health Day is critical to ensure productive andculturally meaningful solutions are resourced and delivered to drive suiciderates down within Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities.
“NACCHO urges the Commonwealth Government to continue providing support for the national suicide prevention trials in 12 communities by looking at the learnings and how they can transition the successful elements into ongoing funding and programs,” Ms Turner stated.
END.
