Back in the mid to late 1990s, Youth suicide in Australia reached a peak and in response the Federal Government set up a national strategy to reduce the figures. Although the strategy did help to reduce these statistics, more recently the figures have leveled off. With one in four young people expected to experience a mental health condition in the next 12 months according to Orygen Youth Health, what can happen to help those figures continue on the downward slope? Who better to tell us…
who better to help shape government youth policy?
The Federal Government enquiry aimed at finding out the things that are currently working, how they are working and how can services can work better for example how can young people be engaged to use those services and to be aware of the services available when they need them, is due to release its report in about a months time.
One comment I heard this week was from Deborah Selway from Mindsavers, when being interviewed by the ABC’s The World Today show, she commented: “I think there has been some fantastic initiatives out there. The headspace, Beyond Blue, there are so many resources available which is phenomenal. I think what we need to do is to be able to bridge the gap between those resources and getting it to the grass roots level where the young people are.”
We at TINO really support that notion of bridging the gap from resources to the grass root to where you, our site users, are today. Everyday we try to ensure that the information we have, the way we present it is in a form and language that you want. To try and achieve this we concentrate on providing you with information as much as providing opportunities and means for you to create it.
But how can we and other services out there improve what we do to ensure that young people choose to seek help and a treatment option rather than turn to suicide? And how can we help those of you that are supporting a friend who may be at risk from suicide? What does you and your community need to ensure our statistics decline towards zero? Leave your comments and suggestions and we shall send any responses through the enquiry.
If you would like more information now on suicide please visit our section on suicide with factsheet information as well as two podcast on suicide prevention and suicide.
If you are in danger now please contact kidshelp line on: 1800 55 1800 or contact 000. Stay safe.
I think this is a great read, from the ActNow site in relation to whether online service providers like Google and Facebook have a social responsibility for how people use their sites? Are they morally obliged to amend results for things like suicide searches? And if they do, will that help keep people alive?
Check it out here http://www.actnow.com.au/Stories/Suicide_and_search.aspx.
Only this morning I was also reading about how important it is that the media report these topics correctly in order to prevent an increase. Really gets you thinking. What do you think of Google’s move – will it help get our target rate of zero?
I think suicide is a mayjor part of life, especially youth suicide. It’s very scary having to deal with the fact that people ARE feeling that suicide is the only way out of being harassed.
I knew someone who commited suicide at he was sunny and bright, but finding out that they had died was something that I never could have expected.
This was a great idea of making people, including children, aware of the dangers of phycology and that people should know that there are people to help.