Victorian Suicide Prevention and Response Strategy Discussion Paper

Your Community Health is a primary mental health care provider, and often the first point of contact when someone is seeking support with their mental health and wellbeing. 

Our submission highlights the link between discrimination and suicide, and calls for urgent prioritisation of suicide prevention and response strategies for First Nations peoples, and people that are LGBTIQA+, from non-English speaking backgrounds – using an intersectional framework.

Other recommendations include:

• A shift in focus on early intervention and primary prevention approaches, supplementing/complimenting crisis support services.
• Investment in local and community-led approaches to ensure targeted and appropriate strategies that include hard-to-reach communities, promoting self-determination.
• An increase in peer workforces to promote recovery and enhance engagement with services.
• Reducing stigma by increasing dialogue about mental health and suicide across a number of settings.