NACCHO #HealthElection16 : Parliamentary inquiry calls for royal commission into #Indigenous #suicide

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“If we don’t have a royal commission into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides, we are going have more suicides, the trends are going to keep on going up, we are going to keep on losing more lives.

We’re already losing more than five per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population nationally to suicide. That’s abominable, that’s a humanitarian, a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”

Suicide prevention worker, Gerry Georgatos, told politicians national action is needed via ABC PM

Photo above Centre for Suicide Prevention

“Mental Health Minister Andrea Mitchell today announced the first three of a total of seven suicide prevention co-ordinators scheduled for placement in Western Australia in 2016.

Co-ordinators will be placed in the Goldfields, Wheatbelt and South-West regions in the first phase of a $3.5 million initiative to promote suicide prevention, and increase community resilience and ability to respond to suicide”

WA Government Press Release see below

TONY EASTLEY: A West Australian parliamentary inquiry has been told a royal commission is needed to address the state’s Indigenous suicide rate.

The inquiry was launched after the death of a 10-year-old girl in a remote Kimberley community earlier this year.

Anthony Stewart has more.

ANTHONY STEWART: An estimated one in 19 Aboriginal people from WA will commit suicide.

State Parliament is examining the crisis, but today, suicide prevention worker, Gerry Georgatos, told politicians national action is needed.

GERRY GEORGATOS: If we don’t have a royal commission into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides, we are going have more suicides, the trends are going to keep on going up, we are going to keep on losing more lives.

We’re already losing more than five per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population nationally to suicide. That’s abominable, that’s a humanitarian, a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

ANTHONY STEWART: WA was shocked into grappling with the issue after a 10-year-old girl committed suicide in March.

The child’s death in the remote Kimberley community of Looma, pushed the WA Parliament to establish an inquiry into youth suicides.

At today’s hearing, committee members repeatedly questioned those giving evidence about the merits of a royal commission.

Dr Graham Jacob chairs the inquiry.

GRAHAM JACOB: We have an open mind to that and we will continue to consider it and hopefully we will have our recommendations around November, before the end of the year.

ANTHONY STEWART: Late last year, the Federal Government established a critical incident team to help WA communities in the immediate aftermath of a suicide.

Evidence presented at the hearing has detailed how the team responded to three suicides in close succession just before Christmas in the Goldfields community of Leonora.

Adele Cox is part of the team which responded.

ADELE COX: Suicide in a lot of our communities, and particularly for young people, sadly has become quite normalised. You know, if something goes wrong, you know, that’s sort of one of the options that’s considered. We actually need to turn that around completely so that, you know, our kids never have suicide as a thought or an option.

ANTHONY STEWART: Ms Cox is also Bunuba and Gija woman from the Kimberley.

She called for more action within Aboriginal communities

ADELE COX: One suicide is one too many. You know, what does it take before we actually get some real change. Greater commitment from both governments, but also I think our own communities, you know. Ultimately as the keepers of our people, you know, we need to take some responsibility in terms of responding to our own mob’s needs as well.

ANTHONY STEWART: The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody is now 25 years old.

Recommendations like the creation of the custody notification service continue to prevent Indigenous deaths in police watch-houses.

Gerry Georgatos says a similar level of national debate is needed to prevent suicides.

GERRY GEORGATOS: A royal commission, on the one hand, will help shift that national consciousness, will help educate the nation, but more importantly, will avail the nation, will avail the bureaucrats, will avail the policy-makers, will avail the parliamentarians, to what works in suicide prevention, and what type of political reform we need.

ANTHONY STEWART: To underline the urgency of this inquiry’s work, it was today informed there was another suicide in the Kimberley at the weekend.

This death happened in a community just visited by one of the politicians.

TONY EASTLEY: Anthony Stewart with that report.

And if you or anyone you know needs help you can call

Lifeline on 13 11 14,

FUNDING FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CO-ORDINATORS

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

  • New suicide prevention co-ordinator roles for Goldfields, South-West and Wheatbelt
  • First phase of major $3.5 million initiative

Mental Health Minister Andrea Mitchell today announced the first three of a total of seven suicide prevention co-ordinators scheduled for placement in Western Australia in 2016.

Co-ordinators will be placed in the Goldfields, Wheatbelt and South-West regions in the first phase of a $3.5 million initiative to promote suicide prevention, and increase community resilience and ability to respond to suicide.

“These new positions fulfil a number of actions identified as part of the Liberal National Government’s Suicide Prevention 2020 Strategy,” Ms Mitchell said.

“These new co-ordinators will be facilitators to assist services on the ground to work in partnership to improve support and care for those affected by suicide and suicide attempts.

“While there is a range of support services available for people in crisis in regional areas, these new positions will increase the capacity of communities to identify and respond to suicide and related mental health issues as well as to promote suicide prevention services and initiatives.

“Co-ordinators will promote suicide prevention training and self-help activities to at-risk groups, as well as training for professionals and to first responders to a suicide.”

The Minister said phase two of the program, which would place co-ordinators in the Kimberley and Mid-West, would be announced soon, and the placement of two co-ordinators in the metropolitan area was also expected later in 2016.

The Mental Health Commission has signed agreements with Holyoake in the Wheatbelt, Hope Community Services in the Goldfields and St John of God Health Care in the South-West.

Fact File

  • The Liberal National Government’s $25.9 million suicide prevention strategy, Suicide Prevention 2020, includes six action areas, including providing local support and community prevention across the lifespan
  • On average, in WA one person loses their life to suicide each day

NACCHO Aboriginal Health NEWS : Lost in the great desert , preventing Aboriginal suicide

Punmu sports carnival, Punmu, Western Desert - Kiwirrkurra Lions play the Warralong Bombers. Picture - Lee Griffith / The West Australian 23 June 2010

Answers that have the potential to halt WA’s Aboriginal “suicide crisis” in less than a decade have already been pinpointed, says leading suicide prevention researcher Gerry Georgatos.

Now, greater commitment and adequate funding were needed to begin the move forward.

But he warned if the current “piecemeal approaches” to suicide prevention were not replaced with the well-researched evidence-based strategies now on offer, then the crisis was likely to “increase and worsen”.

December 09, 2015

Mr Georgatos, a member of the research team at the University of WA-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project, said WA was in the grip of a “catastrophic humanitarian crisis”, with one in four of the nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides occurring in the State and the Kimberley’s indigenous suicide rate among the highest in the world. Deaths had occurred in Aboriginal children aged under 12.

“But what we have long known are the ways forward,” he said.

Gains would be made, he said, when Aboriginal-specific mental health plans and social and emotional wellbeing strategies were introduced and poverty and economic inequalities were addressed.

The project had also determined that racism was still at unacceptable levels in Australia and must be tackled. Internalising the effects of racism had been shown to cause “toxic levels” of stress, distress, depression and feelings of powerlessness that were associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviour and could negate the protective impact of good parenting and a supportive family. The Telethon Kids Institute’s WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey found those who had experienced racism had more than double the risk of having seriously thought about ending their own life.

Increased effort was needed to reduce everyday stress and critical stress events faced by Aboriginal families. Analysis of available data revealed those children and young people presenting with suicidal behaviour were frequently living in overcrowded and substandard housing, exposed to domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, not attending school and likely to have chronic health concerns.

Mr Georgatos said first up there was a pressing need for an Australia-wide critical response service for indigenous suicide.

The project is funded by the Australian Government to evaluate the effectiveness of existing suicide prevention services and programs in combating suicide and suicide ideation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“We are working at a pace to make a real difference but in the end it will come down to governments recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. If you are an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged 15 to 35, nearly one in three deaths will be a suicide,” Mr Georgatos said. “We have the capacity to radically reduce the suicide crisis within less than a decade but we need the political will to underwrite this.

“The problem is that despite the evidence-based research into strategies that will work, governments fail to implement these strategies. We have proposed to the Federal Government, through the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, a critical response model that will save lives.”

Source: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project, University of WA. Go to atsispep.sis.uwa.edu.au. If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, phone Lifeline WA on 13 11 14.

Preventing Aboriginal suicide

Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among Aboriginal people, accounting for one in 19 deaths. Those between the ages of 15-34 are at highest risk, with suicide accounting for nearly one in three deaths. Poverty and historical factors contribute to the suicide rate being, on average, twice as high as that for the non-indigenous population.

Needed to strengthen communities:

  • focusing on youth — providing activities, drop-in centres, camps, connecting youth to elders, providing health promotion and education sessions, parenting programs and restoring sporting competitions.
  • strengthening the sense of community — through shared activities and community events such as fun days, competitions and projects.
  • supporting self-determination.
  • supporting men’s and women’s groups.
  • providing access to employment, education, housing and transport.
  • addressing family violence and substance abuse.

What Works? UWA indigenous studies professor Pat Dudgeon says evidence, expert opinion and experience suggests that:

  • For those at immediate risk of suicide — Culturally safe treatment and support should be delivered through Aboriginal community-controlled health services where possible.
  • For at-risk groups, particularly young people and adults — Developmental factors that can predispose to suicide must be addressed at an early age. Increased efforts are needed to promote positive cultural identity. The WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey 2004 reported clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties were lowest in areas of extreme isolation, where adherence to traditional culture and ways of life was strongest.
  • For whole communities — Healing, empowerment and leadership programs and strategies that build social and emotional wellbeing and resilience.

Aboriginal communities agree on the problem and how to fix it

When eight Aboriginal communities across Australia — differing in size, location, history and levels of remoteness — were asked what challenges had a negative impact on social and emotional wellbeing, their answers were similar. It was exactly the same when they were asked what needed to be done to make things better. Their responses were collected by the Aboriginal-led National Empowerment Project, which conducted interviews in Narrogin, Perth, Northam and Toodyay.

What WA leaders say should be done

A four-point action plan to turn around high suicide rates was put together in June last year when 50 Aboriginal and non-indigenous leaders and experts met at a “Call to Action” round-table meeting.

  1. Prioritise Aboriginal “ways of working” (community-led and culturally appropriate).
  2. Establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth forum.
  3. Strengthen the evidence base for Aboriginal suicide prevention.
  4. Develop an Aboriginal cultural framework for suicide prevention services and programs.

Programs showing the way forward — On-Country programs, mentoring, identity building, language reclamation, programs focused on social and emotional wellbeing and empowerment and stand-by services to back up at-risk individuals and grieving families.

Examples in WA:

ALIVE AND KICKING GOALS! — Aims to prevent youth suicide through the use of football and peer education. Volunteer youth leaders, who are well-respected sportsmen, educate others about suicide prevention and demonstrate that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.

YIRIMAN PROJECT — An intergenerational, “on-Country” cultural healing and education program, developed by elders from four Kimberley language groups: Nyikina, Mangala, Karajarri and Walmajarri.