Funding for new SW Aboriginal support worker to reduce suicide rates, focus on mental health in communities

South West Aboriginal communities are set to benefit from a new support worker who will help tackle the suicide “epidemic” plaguing the State and shine a spotlight on mental health. On Friday, the State Government announced Bunbury-based South West Aboriginal Medical Services as one of nine organisations to share in funding to employ an Aboriginal community liaison officer as part of a move to provide culturally appropriate, region-specific support to help close the gap and reduce Aboriginal suicide rates. The funding, which is part of the Government’s Suicide Prevention Framework 2021-2025, will help SWAMS establish Aboriginal Suicide Prevention plans — a culturally appropriate program to help improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the South West. SWAMS chief executive Lesley Nelson welcomed the funding for the pilot program. “Suicides are an epidemic in our Aboriginal communities right across this country, and the South West is no different,” Ms Nelson said. “This is an area of such importance in our community.” Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia in 2019, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Between 2016 and 2019, WA had the highest rate of suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults across Australia. WA also had the nation’s second-highest rate of suicide among children aged five to 17. Ms Nelson said SWAMS had been selected to facilitate the program due to the service’s proven track record and capacity to deliver services to the diverse range of Aboriginal clients in the region. “Addressing the mental health and well-being of Aboriginal people can only be achieved by local Aboriginal people controlling their own health care delivery,” she said. “We have worked hard to help the funding bodies to understand that Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, like SWAMS, are the authority on providing culturally appropriate and holistic primary health care and mental health services to the Aboriginal community.” “We thank the Government for hearing us, for listening to us in this space and providing us with the funding to deliver this program.” Mental Health Minister Stephen Dawson said initiatives like the appointment of these CLOs were integral in making a real and sustained impact on closing the gap. “We know that there is no one-fit solution to improving mental wellbeing,” he said. “These new regional specific Aboriginal Suicide Prevention plans and the establishment of the CLO’s position reflects the guiding principle of Nothing for Aboriginal people without Aboriginal people and ensures that Aboriginal people are integral and supported to take ownership of these programs and determine their direction.” The funding is part of the Government’s $9.8 million commitment to address and reduce Aboriginal suicide rates and help organisations create region-specific Aboriginal suicide prevention plans.