Suicide was a major mental health and public health problem.
“Hauora Tairawhiti is deeply saddened by the rise in our people taking their lives.
“We are aware of the seriousness of the situation and we convey our deepest condolences to everyone affected by suicide in our rohe.
“Future efforts will require an even greater community response to prevent suicide and promote wellness in our community.
Since records began, Tairawhiti has recorded 14 suicides in 2007-2008 followed by 8, 6, 8, 3, 5, 2, 13, 8, 6 and 14 in the last year.
Mrs Bartlett said one suicide was too many.
“We are concerned that after an improvement in our suicide statistics in recent years, we are seeing a rise again.
“In 2015, a local cross-sector suicide prevention plan was drafted and agreed, which aimed at providing better support for families before and after suicide.
“This plan expected funds would be made available to support co-ordination of this cross-sector work.
‘‘We have recently released funds to enable a suicide prevention/postvention co-ordination position.
“We are acutely aware that suicide is disproportionately high among our Maori people.
“A response for Maori in our community has been implemented, although it is still early in its development. We are seeing the reach of this service increase access to those people who previously might not have met entry criteria to a mental health service.
“We hope that in reducing barriers, we will be able to encourage those who are contemplating self-harm or suicide to reach out, and for the service to respond and engage with care and support, as these are the first steps to building a meaningful relationship.
“We are gaining ground in making it easier and simpler for whanau to access help.
Mrs Bartlett said the district health board’s processes had been redesigned to radically improve early access to mental health services through a single entry point.
This initiative was capturing families who previously would not come into mental health services.
“What we have learned through this contact with whanau is that our community needs an enormous cultural shift to eliminate suicide from our rohe.
“This shift needs to be towards more connectedness, more kindness, togetherness, support and ultimately, more love.
“These changes will hopefully lead to our people feeling that life is worth living and that they have a future.
“We are confident and hopeful with the outcome of the national mental health inquiry panel that visited us recently.
“We are confident that we will have further support and direction to develop our projects even further and provide more support for our families when they need it the most.
“Furthermore, we would like to acknowledge the response of key community groups who work behind the scenes with whanau and those affected by suicide.
“These groups show true community leadership and make a stand to care,’’ said Mrs Bartlett.
The 2017/18 annual provisional suicide statistics show:
• Female suicides have increased by 44 compared to last year, while male suicides increased by 18. The ratio of female to male suicides is 1:2.46.
• The age cohort with the highest number of suicides was the 20 to 24-year-old group, with 76 deaths, followed by the 45 to 49-year-old group with 67 deaths.
• The Maori suicide total (142 deaths) and rate (23.72 per 100,000) are the highest since the provisional statistics were first recorded for the 2007/08 year.
