Saturday May 26 was National Sorry Day, a day when we could say sorry for the past injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It was also a time to commit to giving the descendants of the first Australians a better deal, especially when it comes to improving their mental health and helping to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety in their communities.
Untreated depression is a major risk factor for suicide; and sadly, depression, related drug and alcohol use and suicide remain a huge problem in indigenous communities, with rates significantly higher than in the wider Australian population.
A recent report, “Gone too Soon” on youth suicide rates in the Northern Territory shows that indigenous suicides increased from 18.1 to 30.1 per 100,000, while the rate for non-aboriginal youth had decreased from 4.1 to 2.6 per 100,000. Statistics from other parts of Australia are equally worrying.
This is absolutely not good enough and we should all be concerned about this situation – not just on National Sorry Day – but every day of the year.
With this in mind, beyondblue, in partnership with The Lowitja Institute, will shortly be convening a national roundtable to develop an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Strategy to improve mental health knowledge and help-seeking amongst indigenous Australians.
Hopefully this, along with increased efforts from governments and the NGO sector, will help reverse the upward trend of suicide and depression in indigenous communities.
Kate Carnell AO
CEO, beyondblue
Hawthorn West, Victoria
