Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Minister for Mental Health Lauren Moss explains some of the new suicide prevention projects

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Minister for Mental Health Lauren Moss explains some of the new suicide prevention projects · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Grant funding of two hundred and twenty two thousand dollars
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  Speaker 1: has been awarded across the territory from East Aarnham, Big Rivers, Barkley,
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  Speaker 1: Central Australia and the Top End. Now it is all
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  Speaker 1: in an effort to ensure that all territorians can access
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  Speaker 1: these important programs. Now, the Minister for Mental Health and
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  Speaker 1: Suicide Prevention, Lauren Moss joins me on the line right now.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to your minister.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Minister, what are these grants going to be going towards?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, so, the suicide prevention grants are actually going towards
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  Speaker 2: a whole range of different activities right across the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: So there's thirty that have been awarded and they will
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  Speaker 2: support things like men's health and well being initiatives run
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  Speaker 2: by Rebecca Forest. Has lots of people be very familiar
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  Speaker 2: with Rebecca's work. There is a Steps to Awareness event
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  Speaker 2: that's being run by the Council of Australian Veterans so,
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  Speaker 2: and a lot of like recreation, community connection type activities
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  Speaker 2: across the Northern Territory. So the important part about this
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  Speaker 2: is they're locally led. They come from the community and
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  Speaker 2: they are about making sure we're raising awareness of suicide
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  Speaker 2: prevention practices, but also dressing stigma as well around talking
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  Speaker 2: about mental health and what we need to do to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we are supporting each other better.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, give us, you know, tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more detail about some of these projects.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. So there are a whole range of community organizations
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  Speaker 2: that are in this space all the time. So for example,
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  Speaker 2: our sporting clubs, I know, the Football Federation of the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territories running has a grant and they'll be running
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  Speaker 2: some activities as well. Darwin Dragon's Rugby Union Club they
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  Speaker 2: will be doing a rugby round and family fun day
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  Speaker 2: that's focused on suicide prevention. But ultimately, you know, these
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  Speaker 2: are organizations that already have access to, you know, two
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  Speaker 2: different aspects of our community. They're already connecting with people
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  Speaker 2: and it's a really good opportunity to have conversations that
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  Speaker 2: matter about mental health, about looking after yourself, about how
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  Speaker 2: we can recognize in other people when we might need
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  Speaker 2: to provide some extra help or connect people with services,
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  Speaker 2: and what services are out there as well. So I
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  Speaker 2: can't commend the organizations enough who put their hand up
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  Speaker 2: each year to apply for grants so that they can
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  Speaker 2: have these really important conversations because it is everybody's business. Absolutely,
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  Speaker 2: we've got high rates of suicide in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 2: than we do nationally. It's something that impacts on you know,
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  Speaker 2: just about everyone in many different ways. You know, I
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  Speaker 2: certainly know in my life. You know, it's something that's
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  Speaker 2: impacted on myself and people around me. So it really
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  Speaker 2: is important that we're all part of those community discussions
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  Speaker 2: and so you know that those organizations you'll see those
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  Speaker 2: differ events popping up. And if you can support the
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  Speaker 2: steps to awareness, if you can support the community conversations
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  Speaker 2: that are being had in terms of men's wellness and
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  Speaker 2: talking about health and well being, and I know you're
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  Speaker 2: involved in our space, Katie, then we should be supporting
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  Speaker 2: them as a community.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, Now, have the grants awarded in the past
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  Speaker 1: helped to reduce suicide rates in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: So look the grants that have been provided in the past,
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  Speaker 2: which run across a whole range of different training and
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  Speaker 2: training initiatives or community events. You know, it can be
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  Speaker 2: very very hard to measure in terms of suicide prevention,
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  Speaker 2: and obviously it's something that we do over time. We
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  Speaker 2: have an aim in the Northern Territory to reduce the
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  Speaker 2: rates of suicide by half, and that will be over
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  Speaker 2: the next five years and so will continue to measure that.
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  Speaker 2: But I think that it is well known and accepted
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  Speaker 2: that the solutions here are going to come from the community.
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  Speaker 2: This shouldn't be government led. Government has a really important
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  Speaker 2: role to play, and we do that in terms of
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  Speaker 2: our mental health support. We do that in terms of
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  Speaker 2: getting out these grants. But what we really need is
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  Speaker 2: inclusive communities. We need to make sure we're addressing stigma.
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  Speaker 2: We need to make sure that we are talking about
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  Speaker 2: these issues and the people who do that best are
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  Speaker 2: in the community. So, without a doubt, the community organizations
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  Speaker 2: that will be running activities over the next you know,
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  Speaker 2: over the next little while are making a huge difference
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  Speaker 2: in terms of still sup prevention. Absolutely they are.
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  Speaker 1: And look, they are fantastic programs and a fantastic way
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  Speaker 1: to get that conversation started. I know, Minister that there
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  Speaker 1: will be some people listening this morning who are thinking
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  Speaker 1: exactly the same thing. These are great measures in you know,
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  Speaker 1: to sort of get that conversation going, but do we
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  Speaker 1: have enough you know, do we have enough practitioners who
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  Speaker 1: are able to help those who do actually need to
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  Speaker 1: go in there and speak to somebody, And do we
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  Speaker 1: have enough spaces at the hospital. It does get to
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  Speaker 1: that really serious end when it comes to mental health
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  Speaker 1: and the prevention of suicide.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think those are all really really important
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  Speaker 2: questions to ask, and we know we've got a bilateral
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  Speaker 2: agreement with the federal government around mental health specifically, there
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  Speaker 2: is a fantastic new facility being built at the hospital
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  Speaker 2: which will mean that anybody who goes to the hospital
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  Speaker 2: in those really high levels of mental distress will be
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  Speaker 2: able to be seen in a different area, which is
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  Speaker 2: much more appropriate and much better for their outcomes. But
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  Speaker 2: our focus, Katie, is really on trying to keep people
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  Speaker 2: out of the emergency department, so that is investing in
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  Speaker 2: the community. It's also making sure we continue to invest
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  Speaker 2: in the corresponder model, which is where we have mental
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  Speaker 2: health practitioners clinicians go out with paramedics and police and
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  Speaker 2: make sure that we're and that's having a huge impact
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  Speaker 2: in terms of making sure that people who who might
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  Speaker 2: come to the attention of triple zero for a range
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  Speaker 2: of different reasons actually don't end up in the ED
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  Speaker 2: and they have much much better outcomes. So, you know,
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  Speaker 2: working with the community sector, we're investing there. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: I've been an advocate in this space for a very
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  Speaker 2: long time, Katie. I think, you know, we can always
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  Speaker 2: do more and that's what as a government we're really
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  Speaker 2: focused on doing. But we need to do it with
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  Speaker 2: the community.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, one of the other areas it has
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  Speaker 1: been raised with me, you know, over the past, is
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  Speaker 1: whether we've got enough for our youths as well. You know,
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  Speaker 1: some of our children that are obviously going through really
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  Speaker 1: difficult situations, whether there is access to actually be able
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  Speaker 1: to see a counselor or to be able to see
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  Speaker 1: a psychologist, if that's what's required. Do you feel as
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  Speaker 1: though we've got enough in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: So obviously this is very topical. This often was very
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  Speaker 2: topical when I had the education portfolio. We need to
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  Speaker 2: make sure that psychologists counselors are available for young people
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  Speaker 2: across the Northern territory. Schools play a really important part
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  Speaker 2: of that, and you know we've made some investments there
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  Speaker 2: in terms of trying to make sure we're increasing that
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  Speaker 2: team and that we're partnering with other health organizations. Organizations
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  Speaker 2: like Headspace do a phenomenal job, you know, And where
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  Speaker 2: there are weightlists, I know that that government is working
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  Speaker 2: with the community sector about how we can make sure
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  Speaker 2: we're reducing those weight lists, how we can make sure
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  Speaker 2: that people who do turn up to a service wanting
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  Speaker 2: to get help can get that help. So it is
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  Speaker 2: a challenge, but it's one that you know, we're all
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  Speaker 2: collectively working together, and I think there's been some great
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  Speaker 2: in roads made in this area over the last few years.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Minister, we appreciate your time this morning. Obviously, Minister
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  Speaker 1: for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Laura Moss, thanks so
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  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you