“To tell you the truth, no services really helped, I reached out, reached out for all my kids. All [services] let me down. Where we are, for instance, there’s no mental health there. We’re in a little town 230 kays away from Kal[goorlie].
We have nothing. Our kids have no hope, nothing, just a sense of no belonging, nothing. Lost everything, culture. Do more, do more things for our youth, put things there, especially in country towns,” she said.
I know it’s hard, but set some programs up, give them some sense of belonging, sense of hope.”
Norma Ashwin from Leonora in WA’s Goldfields region lost her son to suicide about a year ago and travelled to Canberra for the ATSISPEP suicide prevention report launch.
Ms Ashwin was part of a group of Aboriginal families who have lost relatives to suicide that met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull before Thursday’s launch.
She urged Governments to focus on young people in regional areas.
Part 3 NACCHO Coverage #ATSISPEP report
Our thanks to Suicide Prevention researcher and campaigner, Gerry Georgatos – Institute of Social Justice and Human Rights for assistance with photos
Response from Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, Minister for Health and Aged Care, Sussan Ley, and Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt.
Emotional Pat Dodson calls for action to stop devastating rate of Indigenous suicide
“There’s nothing worse, as you would know, to get a call in the middle of the night or the early hours of the morning from a relation, and most of us experience this as Aboriginal people, to tell you that someone has died,” he said.
The West Australian Labor senator is based in the Kimberley region and recalled the death at Fitzroy Crossing, a town east of Broome.
“Someone very young has taken their life,” Senator Dodson said.
“I know it happened in Fitzroy [Crossing], a dear 12-year-old boy whose parents found him.
“Whatever caused that, I don’t know, and it’s very hard for us to understand.”
Nearly a third of children who take their own lives in Australia are Indigenous.
Government commits to adopting some recommendations
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) was undertaken over more than a year.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said the Government was “by and large” adopting the suggestions.
“One life lost is one life too many. There’s no targets about this. This has to stop,” Senator Scullion said.
But he said more money for Indigenous mental healthcare was not the answer, instead urging better coordination among health organisations.
“What we’ve found through this process is that there are a number of organisations within a community and those organisations just need to know what their role and responsibility is.”
Suicide rates in some Aboriginal communities, including in the Kimberley, are among the highest in the world.
In August, the Federal Government said the Kimberley would be one of 12 trial sites for a new suicide prevention approach as part of the Government’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
24-Hour Telephone Counselling
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues, call:
“The ATSISPEP report was commissioned by the Coalition Government to look into what is working and what is not working in the services we fund to help prevent suicide in Indigenous communities,” Minister Scullion said.
“It breaks my heart that almost every one of the communities I have visited has been touched by suicide. We know that Indigenous suicide rates are double that of non-Indigenous people, five times higher for young Indigenous Australians and the rate in the Kimberley is one of the highest nationally.
“This report is a critical first step in helping to understand what works in Indigenous communities to tackle what has become an epidemic in some places.
Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion
The report was released at a ceremony in Parliament House attended by members of the project team, key stakeholders, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, Minister for Health and Aged Care, Sussan Ley, and Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt.
Picture aboveAt launch at Parliament House with politicians from all parties and special guests the family of Norma from Leonora who lost a son not long ago and Lena from Fitzroy Crossings who lost a daughter.
Coalition Press Release
The Coalition Government today released the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) report,
Solutions that Work: What the Evidence andOur People Tell Us.
The report sets out a new blueprint to improve suicide-prevention services and programmes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the principle of prioritising community led, culturally-appropriate services.
Minister Scullion said the Government welcomed the report, but did so with a very heavy-heart.
“It builds on the Coalition Government’s commitment to do things with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. To this end, we recently attended a roundtable in the Kimberley to work with the local community on the report’s findings and how to trial some of the approaches it recommends.”
Minister Ley said the Government had worked closely with the report’s authors to ensure recommendations could be quickly implemented on the ground.
“The Coalition Government has committed to trialling the community-led approaches recommended in the report,” Minister Ley said.
“This is reflected in our election commitment to invest $192 million in mental health and suicide prevention, which includes the establishment of 12 suicide-prevention trial sites, including one in the Kimberley.
“The Government is also establishing a Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention to continue to build the evidence base of what works to ensure we are continuously learning and adapting to what is working on the ground.
“The report’s findings will also inform future funding decisions for suicide prevention and mental health programmes and how best to deliver them for Indigenous communities.” Assistant Minister Wyatt thanked the University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies for its work on the project.
“Your report shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians want to have their health needs met in ways that are tailored to their circumstances and that recognise their unique needs, including their cultural needs,” Assistant Minister Wyatt said.
ATSISPEP is one of several Indigenous-specific suicide prevention initiatives supported by the Coalition Government. Others include the Critical Response Project which is addressing suiciderelated trauma in Western Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid training which is being rolled out in more than 60 remote locations across Austra lia.
” The many years of community-generated work in suicide prevention is something that Indigenous Australia, as a collective, should take great pride in.
However, we have to acknowledge also that this alone has not been enough to stop Indigenous suicide rates overall getting higher recently, and that some communities remain at particularly high risk.
ATSISPEP’s first challenge was to identify ‘what works:’ the success factors evident from the suicide prevention work already undertaken in our communities. The second challenge was to support the dissemination of ‘what works’ across all communities: to share knowledge, and ensure that all can benefit from this collective wisdom and experience.”
Professor Pat Dudgeon and Professor Tom Calma AO Website
Photo above : Page 15 NACCHO Aboriginal Health Newspaper to be published 16 November
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) is a unique Indigenous-led research project to identify ‘what works’ to prevent suicide in our communities.
At launch at Parliament House with politicians from all parties and special guests the family of Norma from Leonora who lost a son not long ago and Lena from Fitzroy Crossings who lost a daughter.
Our rates of suicide today are twice as high as other Australians and probably growing. Like the tip of an iceberg, high rates of suicide in a community can be a sign of deeper and complex community-wide problems, involving families and people caught in cycles of despair and a sense of hopelessness. Yet not all our communities, even those facing similar challenges, experience the same rates of suicide.
ATSISPEP was developed with the recognition that for many years Indigenous Elders, community leaders and healers in some of our worst-affected communities have been working tirelessly to prevent suicide.
Often volunteering, and with little or no financial support, they have generated community-specific and culturally-based ways of bringing people back from the edge of suicide and also supporting families who are bereaved by loss.
In some cases, they have worked with entire communities to address the underlying community-level issues that can contribute to a suicide, for example, unemployment, violence, and alcohol and drug use. In others, they have connected young people to their Indigenous identity and culture and the sense of worth this can bring.
The many years of community-generated work in suicide prevention is something that Indigenous Australia, as a collective, should take great pride in.
However, we have to acknowledge also that this alone has not been enough to stop Indigenous suicide rates overall getting higher recently, and that some communities remain at particularly high risk.
ATSISPEP’s first challenge was to identify ‘what works:’ the success factors evident from the suicide prevention work already undertaken in our communities. The second challenge was to support the dissemination of ‘what works’ across all communities: to share knowledge, and ensure that all can benefit from this collective wisdom and experience.
The report includes an analysis of Indigenous suicide prevention program evaluations and previous research and consultations on Indigenous suicide prevention. It includes the input of ATSISPEP-held regional community roundtables, and roundtables on specific topics (for example, on Indigenous young people and suicide prevention, justice issues, and Indigenous LGBTQI and suicide prevention).
ATSISPEP also held a national conference in Alice Springs this May. It was an opportunity to test our work and gather even more information from the 370 attendees, most of whom were Indigenous.
A selection of some of the success factors identified in the report includes:
Community-specific programs to address the community-level contributing factors that can lead to suicide.
Community development and ownership of programs.
Access to culturally competent counsellors and mental health support for people at immediate risk of suicide.
The involvement of Elders in programs.
Cultural frameworks for programs, and cultural elements in them: for example, culturally-informed healing practices and connecting young people to country.
Alcohol and drug use-reduction as a part of an overall response.
Gatekeeper training, whereby community members are trained to identify people at risk of suicide and connect them to help.
For young people, peer to peer mentoring, and education and leadership on suicide prevention.
24-hour, seven-day a week availability of support.
With ATSISPEP complete, the implementation of the 2013 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy (with almost $18 million pledged to it) through the Primary Health Networks, and the establishment of at least two Indigenous suicide prevention trial sites (that were recently announced by the Australian Government) can proceed on an evidence-based footing. ATSISPEP has also generated tools for both Indigenous communities and Primary Health Networks to use to develop and strengthen programs.
Our NACCHO CEO Pat Turner as a contributor to the report attended the launch pictured here with Senator Patrick Dodson and co-author Prof. Pat Dudgeon
The hope of ATSISPEP is that its report will help bring about a new era in Indigenous suicide prevention in which many lives will be saved. It is now incumbent on Australian governments to ensure that our communities receive the support they need to help make this happen.
ATSISPEP was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health.
If you are looking for help please call one of the following national helplines:
Lifeline Counselling Service: 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 (cost of a local call)
A community’s journey to find an answer to suicide: Photo: Helen Peterson, Elizabeth Taylor and Evelyn Peterson. Elizabeth Taylor, who lost her teenage friend to suicide, said the whole town was hurting. “Everyone here in Leonora is like family — we all know each other — so when somebody takes their life it hurts everyone,” Ms Taylor said.
“No one should be able to take their own lives — it’s so preventable.”
But Leonora is determined to face its grief.
The town of Leonora, in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields is searching for answers after a spate of suicides. Four young peoplefrom the community have taken their own lives since Christmas — all of them Aboriginal.
Full ABC Story below
Previewing the inaugural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference in Alice Springs this week
The conference will also hear of the importance of collective healing and secure funding arrangements, according to Summer May Finlay, a Yorta Yorta woman, Croakey contributor and PhD candidate.
Summer May Finlay writes:
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strong and proud. Yet there probably isn’t an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family who hasn’t in some way been touched by suicide or self-harm.
An individual’s social and emotional well-being is closely strongly influenced by and connected to their family and communities’ well-being as well as a strong connection to culture and country.
As well, social determinants that negatively effect people include poverty, unemployment, lack of housing, lack of access to appropriate services and ongoing racism. These make significant contribution to a sense of helplessness, hopelessness and despair for some people and can result in destructive behaviours.
This is why the Inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference is bringing together people, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to discuss not only the appallingly high rates of suicide seen in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics, but also how to work towards a healthy future for individuals, families and communities.
There has been much in the media recently about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and suicide. There was considerable information about the statistics, how terrible they are and the need to address the issue some how. There were many individual’s commentaries about what could be possible solutions.
What the conference aims to do is to bring together people who work in the space at a local level, experts and community to yarn about community-based solutions and the community supports which are required to develop and implement them.
No quick fixes
There cannot be one-size fits all approaches. There are no quick fixes. There are no solutions that can achieve the unachievable in a political cycle. Over 200 years of colonisation, dispossession, racism, discrimination and marginalisation have taken a toll on our communities.
No one knows these impacts better than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves; therefore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-driven solutions are required.
The conference will be held on May 5-6 at the Alice Springs Conference Centre. Keynote speakers are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including Stan Grant and Rosalie Kunoth- Monks. Other significant speakers include Professor Tom Calma, Co-Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, Professor Pat Dudgeon, Project Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) and Richard Weston, CEO of the Healing Foundation.
The conference organisers also recognised that we could learn from the experiences of Indigenous people from other countries and have included international representation in the program.
Professor Tom Calma AO, former Social Justice Commissioner, believes that the conference is significant because it prioritises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives.
“The real significance is that this the first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference is that has been organised by us, with most of the speakers and workshops delivered by our people, and the majority of the participants are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” he said.
Focus on protective factors
Vicki O’Donnell, CEO of the Kimberley Aboriginal Health Services Ltd, is a member of the Conference Advisory Committee, and believes the significance of the conference is the strengths-based approach.
“We want to focus on interventions which promote cultural continuity, identity and language. We see these as protective factors. Part of that is building resilient, long-lasting programs,” Ms O’Donnell says.
Professor Calma agrees that a strengths-based approach is one of the key aspects of the conference, which is why there will be a focus on learning from the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“We have a number of objectives, and first and foremost is the opportunity for people to learn more about suicide prevention and to share their ideas,” he said. “This learning is not only for government or professionals but also enables communities to share their experiences and thoughts about what needs to be in place.”
Ms O’Donnell agrees that the priority is hearing from people who are working in the space or have lived experience.
She expects the conference will also profile the importance of collective healing, believing that we need to come together as a collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country to learn from and support each other.
“As Aboriginal people coming together, we can showcase the good work that’s been done,” she said. “We have common issues and gaps. The conference can also lead to collaborations across the country.”
Ms O’Donnell also expects the conference can assist non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations working in the space. She said:
“For non-Aboriginal people, I would like for them to become more aware of the underlying issues [of suicide and self harm].
The other significant things I hope they take away is that for effective solutions, they need to be co-designed with Aboriginal families and communities. Also, I want to see the non-Aboriginal organisations who receive Aboriginal funding to facilitate a space for this to occur.”
Conference themes
Themes of the conference reflect a strengths-based approach, and include:
Community Based Solutions
Cultural Solutions
Social Determinants
Cultural Practices
Data and Statistics
Prison and its impacts
Stolen Generations.
To ensure attendance from all around Australia and from people who might not have had support to attend, the conference offered scholarships or bursaries. Professor Calma said:
“We want to recognise the people who are doing great work, and there are some fantastic groups at the local level who are building peoples awareness and resilience. The participants are from all over the country and… through our bursary program, we were able to make sure that a variety of people from across the country are represented.
We also wanted to make sure that the minority groups of people within our communities are equally represented such as LGBTI, those with disabilities, people very remote communities with limited English and people with lived experience. We also wanted to make sure we had people represented from the stolen generations.”
One could be forgiven for thinking that the conference will be all serious; however, if there is one thing we are good at as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it is being able to laugh together, even when things aren’t so great.
Professor Calma says that laughter will also be part of the conference: “One of the thing about Aboriginal people is we can laugh in tough times. The conference is a serious matter but there will be some lighter moments.”
Conference organisers recognise that the conversations may be difficult for some people, and have ensured there are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health professionals and psychologists to speak to conference attendees. Three counsellors at the conference will be from the Kimberley Aboriginal Health Services Ltd.
Social media tips
For those of you on social media – we encourage people to tweet, the hashtag is #ATSISPEP. Please keep in mind when engaging with social media that suicide and self-harm are sensitive issues.
Below are some tips on how to engage with social media and the sensitive issue of self-harm and suicide.
• Please do not record, stream or post video of people’s presentations without their express permission.
• Please don’t post tweets with people’s personal stories or photos without their permission.
• We encourage social media posts, which are strengths-based and solutions-focused in keeping with the conference tone.
• We encourage healthy conversations; however, we know trolls do exist and recommend you ignore, report or block them if they engage in negative debate.
Of course, there will be some take-home messages for governments too.
Ms O’Donnell said:
“I want the government to sit up and pay attention to the good work that’s happening in communities. There are some great programs but the funding isn’t sustainable. Every year we have to fight for funds. We shouldn’t have to do that. We don’t want to be in the same situation three years later.”
Elizabeth Taylor, who lost her teenage friend to suicide, said the whole town was hurting.
“Everyone here in Leonora is like family — we all know each other — so when somebody takes their life it hurts everyone,” Ms Taylor said.
“No one should be able to take their own lives — it’s so preventable.”
But Leonora is determined to face its grief.
About 20 residents from the town have set off on a one-week 3,600-kilometre road trip through the desert to attend Australia’s first-ever Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference in Alice Springs on May 5 and 6.
The conference is focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander responses to suicide and self-harm.
Presentations will come almost exclusively from Indigenous people.
‘There is no support out there’
Karen Beasley is one of those going on the journey.
“I’m hoping to learn from others and I am hoping to maybe help others,” she said.
“I am looking forward to going to this conference and being with other Indigenous people.”
Ms Beasley lost her niece to suicide in January, just three months after she attempted to take her own life.
“There is no support out there in our communities,” she said.
“There are young people in the communities that you know well.
“One minute they are there and the next minute they are gone. It’s very sad.”
Ms Beasley said finding out about the death of her niece “was like a big brick hitting [me] in the face”.
Leonora Aboriginal elder Richard Evans is the driving force behind the trip to Alice Springs.
He said the trip to the conference was equally as important as the event itself.
“Most of our people… have never been out of Leonora, so I’m trying to take some people across [to] Alice Springs so that they can see outside of Leonora and see what other people are doing out there,” he said.
“I am hoping that they will come back with something bigger and better than what they got here. I hope it broadens their horizons.”
‘It will be an emotional journey’
Ngaanyatjarra elder Glen Cook will act as a cultural guide on the journey.
The group will stop in other remote Aboriginal communities en route to Alice Springs, to see how they deal with issues such as suicide and self-harm.
Mr Cook said it would be an eye-opening experience for the young people.
“It will be an emotional journey because they are carrying a burden on their shoulder and it will bring a lot of memories of people that have passed away,” he said.
“I hope that the young people … will bring a lot of good ideas back,” he said.
Leonora local Evelyn Peterson, who lost a friend to suicide, said she wanted to learn how to spot the signs of someone who was suicidal.
“Life is too short — especially for these young ones. That is what makes it harder; we didn’t know those young people were going through those things,” she said.
“Everybody needs someone to talk to.”
Leonora Deputy Shire President Matt Taylor said he hoped the group would return with ideas on how to rebuild and prevent any more young lives from being lost.
“Our community has been treading on eggshells. It has been very difficult to find a way forward,” Mr Taylor said.
“From the conference in Alice Springs they will bring back the knowledge and hopefully a path on how to empower themselves and our younger generations.”
“The focus of the roundtable will be on how we can best reduce the incidence of mental health conditions and suicide, and improve social and emotional wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Indigenous health remains this nation’s most confronting health challenge, with mental health issues in need of urgent attention. We want this meeting to develop some clear, positive strategic direction,”
Senator Scullion speaking on behalf of the three federal government ministers who will sit down with Indigenous leaders and mental health advocates today ( Wednesday) to tackle Indigenous mental health, which they say is the nation’s “most confronting health challenge”. See full story below
This survey is being conducted for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) – a national research project at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in partnership with Telethon Kids Institute that is responding to the high levels of suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
ATSISPEP is developing a strong evidence base on effective programs, services, resources, training and other initiatives directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention across Australia. This survey seeks your feedback, responses, and insights about any experiences you may have had with a range of suicide prevention programs, services, training and resources– either personally or in your professional capacity. The information you provide will help guide and further inform our project and strengthen its findings.
The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. Please contact the team at Telethon Kids Institute if you have any queries about the survey, or if you would like to discuss anything further with the ATSISPEP team. Thank you for your interest and participation in what we hope will be a valuable information gathering exercise.
Indigenous mental health: leaders to tackle ‘most confronting challenge’
Three federal government ministers will sit down with Indigenous leaders and mental health advocates on Wednesday to tackle Indigenous mental health, which they say is the nation’s “most confronting health challenge”.
Health Minister Sussan Ley, Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion will meet 17 mental health advocates and seven respected Indigenous health leaders at Parliament House to discuss reducing the suicide rates of Indigenous people and associated mental health issues.
“The focus of the roundtable will be on how we can best reduce the incidence of mental health conditions and suicide, and improve social and emotional wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Senator Scullion said.
“Indigenous health remains this nation’s most confronting health challenge, with mental health issues in need of urgent attention. We want this meeting to develop some clear, positive strategic direction,” he said.
Suicide death rates among Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders are more than double those of non-Indigenous people living in the same areas.
For people aged 25 to 34, the suicide rate almost triples compared with non-Indigenous people.
“Successive governments have invested heavily in culturally appropriate health programs for Indigenous Australians and, while we have had some success with improvements in life expectancy, especially with the decline in child death rates, the incidence of suicide is a continued concern and we must all work toward a coherent, national approach that more rapidly tackles these issues,” Ms Ley said.
For help or information call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636
