Community & Business
27 May, 2021
Community workshop for suicide awareness
COMMUNITY members gathered at Muluridji Park in Mareeba last Wednesday as Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation joined with Ngoonbi Community Services Indigenous Corporation to deliver a special suicide awareness workshop.
COMMUNITY members gathered at Muluridji Park in Mareeba last Wednesday as Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation joined with Ngoonbi Community Services Indigenous Corporation to deliver a special suicide awareness workshop.
The workshop was conducted to open up the conversation around mental health and suicide, with the aim to understand what the community needs and get relevant organisations and authorities on board.
Mulungu CEO Gail Wason put forward the fact that Mareeba is one of the highest towns in Australia for suicide.
“It’s a sad fact but Mareeba is one of 12 communities across Australia that has an issue with suicide, we’re one of the 12 highest communities for suicide,” she said.
“The Government invited us to invite someone to take on the funding so that we can find out, how do we help our mob?.
“Particularly our young ones, how do we help them, how do we deal with this and how can we make it better.
“If we can come out with some good answers about what we want in the future, that’s when we will get funding to address these issues.”
Ngoonbi CEO Glenis Grogan echoed Mrs Wason’s thoughts and believes that the best way to address this issue, is together.
“Together with Ngoonbi, Mulungu and the Mareeba community we will work together to identify what is it that Mareeba needs going forward,” she said.
Another workshop will be held in June by Mulungu and Ngoonbi with more community discussion with police and local council in the books moving forward
