This strategy and action plan commits to doing better for Māori and supporting Māori to take a leadership role and control of their wellbeing and recovery. It also recognises that different approaches may be needed to respond to and support the needs of particular population groups.
The action plan details actions across the suicide prevention continuum that aim to increase protective factors and reduce risk factors for the population of Aotearoa New Zealand. Action areas include:
- promoting wellbeing
- responding to suicidal distress and behaviour
- supporting individuals, whānau and families, and communities after a suicide.
We have seen good progress being made this year in each of these areas, including:
- Expansion of the family and whānau suicide prevention information service provided by the Mental Health Foundation.
- Establishment of the Māori and Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Funds. In the first year, there were 58 successful recipients, made up of 39 whānau/hapū initiatives and 13 iwi providers that received a combined total of around $2.5 million from the Māori fund, and 18 Pasifika initiatives that received a combined total of around $900,000 from the Pasifika fund.
- Establishment of the Suicide Bereaved Response Service to provide free counselling and support for people bereaved by suicide. This service is available online, with face-to-face services being progressively rolled out from 2021.
- Funding allocated to all District Health Boards for additional suicide postvention workers.
- Focusing on building a sense of agency, help seeking and community support through delivery of the psychosocial plan, Kia kaha, Kia Maia, Kia Aotearoa and COVID-19 response actions.
- Established external Māori and lived experience advisory support.
- Undertaking a review of the Coronial Data Sharing Service which facilitates timely access to information about suspected suicide to enable efforts to support individual, whānau and communities impacted by suspected suicide.
- Undertaking a review of regional and community-level suicide prevention and postvention services and resources.
- Working with the Office of the Chief Coroner to respond to speculation about suicide rates (in particular through the lockdown period) as well as supporting the annual release of the provisional suspected suicide data.
- Working with other government agencies to ensure there is clear ownership of initiatives that will contribute to suicide prevention.
- Focusing on responsible depiction of suicide on digital and social media platforms through work with the Chief Censor.
- Raising awareness of the importance of focusing on solutions to suicide prevention through World Suicide Prevention Day.
We have worked hard and consistently at encouraging realistic and responsible conversations in the public arena about what contributes to the country’s suicide rate, and about what it will take – from all of us – to bring that rate down.
We’ve focused on changing attitudes towards suicide prevention, including that people who die by suicide are almost always acutely distressed but are not necessarily mentally ill, and the focus for suicide prevention should rest with communities, with whānau, with community leadership and with community services, supported in a sustainable manner by local and central government.
Finally, at its last meeting for the year, Sir Mason Durie retired from the Māori Expert Reference Panel that was established to provide strategic advice, support and guidance on matters relating to Māori suicide prevention and implementation of He Tapu te Oranga. I was enormously grateful that Sir Mason agreed to Chair the Panel during the foundation year of the Office; his wisdom and clarity of thought were of immense value to me personally and the evolution of the Office more generally.
I am sure you will all join me in thanking Sir Mason and his whānau for the time given to our work this year, and wishing them all the very best for his retirement.
As we move into year two of delivering the suicide prevention strategy and action plan, we remain focused on calling for collective ownership of the problem and solutions and also on building a strong system that supports wellbeing and responds to people’s needs.
I look forward to continuing to work with you all on this in the coming year.
I do hope that this message finds you well and in good heart, and I wish you all a happy and restful holiday season.
Ngā mihi
Carla
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