Crisis support hotline Lifeline is calling for the Commonwealth to support a specialised call centre aimed at addressing the high rates of First Nations suicide.
News of a 10 year old girl in northern Western Australia who took her own life over the weekend has made waves throughout communities across the continent and is driving increasing calls for culturally appropriate support services.
While according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2010 and 2014, 1.4 to 3.6 First Nations children per 100,000 die by suicide nationally, this most recent death is believed to be one of 19 suicides since the beginning of the year in Western Australia alone.
Lifeline Central West in NSW, has written to the Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, asking financial support for a call centre in Dubbo, with the ability to take up to 70,000 calls.
The proposed arm of Lifeline is expected to cost around $10 million annually and employ about 118 First Nations people from the Dubbo region.
Executive Director Alex Ferguson says our mob done like talking about their issues to non-Indigenous people.
The proposal has reportedly attracted support from the Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton who says it would be a worthwhile exercise and intends to lobby the the Indigenous Affairs Minister next week.
