THE rate of suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria makes for “sobering” reading, says the chief of Mallee District Aboriginal Services.
A recent report by the Coroners Court of Victoria revealed that, despite a slight decline in 2022, the number of suicides among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria continued to be high.
In 2022, 18 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria died by suicide – compared to 34 in 2021.
However, in the context of longer-term data, this remained a “troubling” rate.
The report found 108 Indigenous people had died by suicide between 2018 and 2022, compared to 3429 non-Indigenous people.
That represented a rate of about 27.4 suicides per 100,000 of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the period, compared to a rate of 10.6 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous people.
From 2018 to 2022, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides happened more frequently in regional areas (52.8 per cent) than metropolitan areas (47.2 per cent). For non-Indigenous people, 65.7 per cent of suicides happened in metropolitan Melbourne.
MDAS chief executive Darlene Thomas said the report highlighted the ongoing divide between metropolitan and regional areas, particularly in relation to Aboriginal people.
She said it was “deeply concerning” that three years on from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, and 14 years on from the launch of Closing the Gap, we were still seeing Aboriginal people disproportionately represented in suicide rates.
She said this showed a need for increased funding for wrap-around support services with a focus on early intervention and prevention.
Reflecting on what she believed must be done to address the issue, Ms Thomas said that while there had been notable investment in mental health awareness activities, it should be matched with targeted funding for regional services.
“We know the need is there, we see it every day and these latest statistics paint the picture – if you live in a regional area, and you’re struggling with mental health issues, you’re less likely to get a good outcome,” Ms Thomas said.
“This should not be the case. Geography should not dictate health outcomes any more than cultural background should.”
The Mildura local government area had one of the higher rates of suicide frequency, and this was data borne out by the anecdotal evidence MDAS heard on the ground, Ms Thomas said.
Ms Thomas said MDAS had redesigned its mental health approach to support as many of its community members as they can in response to what the organisation had seen locally.
“We have adopted a holistic, culturally informed approach that unites a range of services into ‘pods’, meaning clients receive wrap-around support,” she said.
“We recognise that many clients are struggling with several issues, outside the mental health diagnosis.
“They may have substance abuse or gambling issues. They could be financially insecure and experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
“They could also be impacted by trauma or family conflict.
“Our model offers clients the supports they need, under one roof, with a team dedicated to their mental health and wellbeing journey, and this is proving to be successful.
“We have also established relationships with our local hospitals so that when our clients and community members are hospitalised, we can support the clinical response to mental health with culturally safe care.”
Ms Thomas said MDAS would like additional, “flexible” funding that allowed further expansion of the model to be able to offer youth mental health support programs how, where and when they were needed.
In addition to services based in Mildura, MDAS offers outreach support to their Swan Hill and Kerang communities.
“While the increased number of people contacting the organisation for help across the Mallee is worrying on one level, it is also an indication of the community’s growing understanding of the importance of caring about their own mental health and the services that exist to help them,” Ms Thomas said.
“Calls to our service have increased tenfold over the past year, but every call that is made represents a life that we can potentially save.”
MDAS has called for increased funding for programs that supported carers of people living with mental health issues and for those dealing with the suicide of someone close to them.
“We need to focus on prevention,” Ms Thomas said.
“We need to educate people so they can recognise the signs of a mental health crisis in both themselves, and in others, and how to respond.
“We need to improve early assessment and treatment for people living in regional areas and funding needs to be directed to placed-based programs that address the trauma experienced in the wake of a suicide because it casts a long shadow.”
Ms Thomas said that mental health and suicide was an all-of-community problem and she appealed for kindness and understanding.
“We all need to take the time to check in on those around us,” she said. “We need to be asking people if they are OK and, critically, we need to have the courage to answer that question honestly.
“There is support available, so I encourage anyone who is struggling, or who knows someone who’s struggling, to seek help.”
Coroners Court Aboriginal Engagement Unit acting manager Jessica Gobbo said the finding highlighted that more needed to be done to strengthen approaches to Aboriginal health and wellbeing.
“While the content of this report is highly distressing, this information gives agency to our community and Aboriginal-led organisations to understand the issues contributing to passings by suicide and develop culturally safe supports to save lives,” she said.
Anyone requiring urgent help can call Lifeline’s 24-hour number, 131 114. For crisis support, call Beyond Blue, 1300 224 636, headspace, 1800 650 890, or Kids Helpline, 1800 551 800.
Other key findings in the report include: