Warning: This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation.
Community and Indigenous organisations will receive a share of $1 million in Western Australia government grants to support suicide prevention.
Announced on Tuesday, the funds will be provided to community organisations across the state to help deliver culturally-appropriate, community-led programs which increase awareness and reduce stigma around mental health and suicide.
The Aboriginal Family Legal Service will receive funding for its Red Dress Wadjak Arts Healing project, which aims to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal women, children and young people who have experienced family and domestic violence by engaging in creative arts and workshops.
The Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (BRAMS) will receive funding for its 'Yarn with Me' project. The project offers Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid training for BRAMS staff and accredited suicide prevention training for community members.
The Deadly Maaman Mooditj Kaat (Deadly Men Good Thinking-Head) program aims to help Aboriginal men and male youth increase mental health literacy, reduce stigma and build resilience.
Together Towards Tomorrow is the theme of the 2025 National Suicide Prevention Conference which is being held in Perth from Tuesday until Thursday, with Mental Health Minister Meredith Hammat saying on Tuesday, "we know we must work together towards a better tomorrow".
"We can't do it alone; everyone has a role to play in preventing and reducing deaths by suicide," she said in a statement.
The Minister said the country can't ignore the devastating effects of suicide, adding: "Through funding grassroots organisations, we are helping those who understand best what their community needs."
The latest Closing the Gap data revealed Indigenous suicide rates across the country continue to rise. Several of the community organisations to receive funding are Indigenous-led.
Last year, it was revealed 42 per cent of participants in the first-ever comprehensive dataset on Aboriginal youth mental health in Australia, compiled by leading psychologist Dr Tracy Westerman and The Westerman Jilya Institute, had experienced thoughts of suicide.
Suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–39 in 2022, and suicide rates for Indigenous youth have climbed to an average of four times that of non-Indigenous children, which is only compounded by an overrepresentation in incarceration and out-of-home care.
Previous studies have found suicide rates in First Nations remote communities in Western Australia were some of the highest in the world.
"The rate of suicide among Aboriginal children remains unacceptably high. This is not a statistic but a pressing issue that demands immediate attention," Dr Westerman, founder and Executive Chair of Jilya, said last year.
"Mental illness has long been established as a causal factor to the escalating incidence of suicides, but this data is showing us that risk indicators markedly differ for Aboriginal youth, which is vital knowledge to have."
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