Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

The death by suicide of a loved one leaves a devastating and lasting impact on family members left behind. The lifelong impact on children is profound, placing them at a higher risk of dying by suicide three times higher than the general community. Children bereaved are at increased high risk of having mental health issues.

It is vital that we support children both in the short and long-term through the traumatic experience of losing a parent or loved one to suicide.

First Nations people in Western Australia are dying by suicide at a devastating rate. Between 2014 and 2018, WA had the highest age-standardised rate of suicide among First Nations people in the country, with 37.9 deaths per 100,000. This is compared with an average of 23.7 deaths per 100,000 among indigenous populations across Australia, and 12.6 deaths per 100,000 among the non-indigenous population in 2017.