In a boost for the region’s mental health services, Saturday’s federal election win means the Coalition Government will be expected to deliver on its pre-election promise to invest $350,000 in the Mental Illness Fellowship NQ.

The pledged investment is a timely one, with September 10 recognised as World Suicide Prevention Day.

The funding will enable the Mental Illness Fellowship NQ (MIFNQ to establish a Clubhouse, a place where people with mental illness can meet with their peers in a supportive environment that provides access to employment and pre-employment activities, improved housing access, social ventures, social activities, peer support, mentoring, life skills development and a range of self?directed activities.

The Clubhouse, an internationally acknowledged service, will be established alongside the existing Cairns Mental Health Carers Support Hub.

“This is fabulous news for local families who are deeply impacted by mental health issues and who have suffered under the current Government’s piecemeal approach to mental health care,” said recently re-elected Federal Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch.

A long-time advocate for better access to mental health services, Mr Entsch has raised the issue several times in parliament over the past 12 months, and spoke during Suicide Prevention Week in September last year,  to raise awareness of the work done by the Dr Edward Koch Foundation and the Declan Crouch Foundation. He has also intervened with the State Health Minister on several occasions, gaining bridging funding for facilities and helping a suicidal teenager get admitted to the Barrett Adolescent Centre in Brisbane.

“This is a very successful model based on other clubhouses from overseas and around Australia. The holistic approach is an innovative way of supporting people facing the challenges of mental illness, particularly in regional areas,” Mr Entsch said.

Coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day, the Mossman Community Centre, in association with Unity Care and Lifeline, hosted a SAFE Talk yesterday.

Katie Cole, Service Coordinator for Crisis Support with Uniting Care Community and Lifeline in Queensland, said the SAFE (Suicide Awareness For Everyone) Talk was a free basic awareness training session, made possible through a $1000 donation from Mossman Rotary Club to Lifeline Cairns, specifically for the Mossman session.

It aims to provide the key knowledge and skills to break down the stigma around suicide, and provide an open space for discussion. “It’s better to do something than nothing,” Ms Cole explained.

“The first step is connecting…Knowing how to start, and the next steps. The other fear is, ‘If I get involved, then what do I do?’  So we explain about resources like community centres, schools - places with trained professionals.”

“SAFE training gives people knowledge and skills with how to engage with someone or how to recognise who might be at risk of suicide, and how to ask them,” Ms Cole said.

In Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death for men between 25-44, and according to beyondblue, one million lives are lost by suicide globally. In Australia, around 2300 people take their lives every year. Untreated depression is a major risk factor for suicide and research shows that men are less likely than women to take action to seek support if they have a mental health problem.

“Obviously there being a high male population up in the North Queensland, stuff like [the SAFE session] is an opportunity to start to build engagement,” she said, adding the lack of access to service providers is a major problem in regional areas like Far North Queensland.  

“Lots of mental health services are Cairns-based. So a lot of the extra help Douglas Shire residents may need requires money and travel to get there,” she explained.

“With the strain on services to do outreach, there’s pressure to reduce some of that, which makes outreach areas more vulnerable. So for us to be able to physically go [to Mossman] and target a group that might not have been able to access these services before [is valuable].

“We’re also able to highlight services like Lifeline and Callback service, which provide help over the phone; you don’t need to go anywhere.”

“Mental illness and suicidal behaviour in our regional areas is a growing problem and it’s vital that people feel they have somewhere to go, where they can access supportive and relevant services in their local area,” Mr Entsch said.

“I know it can be difficult for men to talk about feelings of stress and anxiety, or being financially or emotionally overwhelmed, but I’d strongly encourage them to take advantage of services such as beyondblue. 

At the end of the day, a problem shared is a problem halved, and it’s far better to ask for help than to keep these feelings bottled up inside," he said.

In more good news, national depression initiative beyondblue announced yesterday it will provide male-dominated workplaces with free or heavily-subsidised training sessions, to improve the mental health of workers across Australia, help reduce male suicide rates and increase businesses understanding of the importance of having a mentally healthy workplace.

Small to medium enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, unions and businesses in construction, mining, manufacturing and transport are eligible for free or heavily-subsidised workshops. The workshops aim “to help employers and employees to recognise the early signs of anxiety and depression in their work colleagues, take action to assist them to get the treatment they need and reduce discriminatory attitudes,” said beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell.

Any interested organisation should contact the beyondblue NWP licensee, Davidson Trahaire Corpsych on 1300 134 644 or mentalwellbeing@davcorp.com.au or visit www.beyondblue.org.au/nwp for more information.