While you’re here… help us stay here.
Are you enjoying open access to policy and research published by a broad range of organisations? Please donate today so that we can continue to provide this service.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this resource may contain images or names of people who have since passed away.
This resource contains information about suicide which may be upsetting to some people.
This is the story of suicide prevention in two remote Indigenous communities. The suicide prevention story from the Tiwi Islands (Northern Territory) and Yarrabah (Queensland) presented here is told by the communities themselves. It is a story of community empowerment in each place and as such supports the existing work of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP).
In the past two decades the communities of Yarrabah (Queensland) and the Tiwi Islands (Northern Territory) have both seen suicide rates fall dramatically from the very high rates experienced in the 1990s. While understanding suicide in remote communities has been challenging, these two communities have a story that, when told from the community’s perspective, might provide evidence of how trauma and healing impact suicide rates and how community-based solutions lead to success.
Key Findings:
The case studies in this report demonstrate how theory and practice can come together through empowered, local responses to the devastating events that took place in each community. Capturing these stories demonstrates that learnings are best documented and understood when communities have the opportunity to first create, and then second, tell their own story.