Depression and suicide have been ripping communities apart for far too long.
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And for just as long it has been shrouded in a suffocating cloak of silence.
No one spoke about it because these were such taboo subjects, meaning the victims – those suffering with depression, the people who take their own lives and their families – didn’t have a voice.
The problems of course continue to compound the longer the issue is off the table.
Without a proper national debate, there can be no way to put in place the support programs that are so urgently needed to help so many people.
But instead, a real political will has been missing.
Yes, government has taken steps to set-up some support services such as headspace, which the Border fought long and hard to secure.
This is a vital way of keeping the lines of communication open with young people right across the region.
Most importantly, it will save lives.
But this is such a very small part of what is truly needed.
It is almost absurd that Australia does not have any sort of a public awareness campaign on suicide and suicide prevention.
Without this, it has been estimated that up to one in four people have virtually no understanding of the issue.
It has taken on a special resonance this week with the tragic news that the Border has lost another to this national tragedy with the death of Debbie Wass.
It is a terrible loss for the Border medical community, but it goes way beyond that – it is truly tragic for her loved ones and for someone who could find no other way forward.
The Border community has been at the forefront of breaking the taboos of suicide.
Next month that continuing dialogue in our community will again take a public face with Albury’s annual winter solstice.
The event has been applauded by national mental health advocate Patrick McGorry. He has remarked how it shows the Border community is breaking down the taboos.
As he said at last year’s event, “society forbids suicide and people think by sweeping it under the carpet that it’s somehow going to go away”.
It won’t go away. And that’s a message that should be made clear to our politicians.
Show some leadership and give suicide awareness some decent support.