Suicide death of Keisha Smith, 21, a week after release from hospital shows need for reform, family says

Young mother Keisha Smith took her own life in March. A week earlier she was taken to hospital following a suicide attempt – but her family was never told.

Shakira Smith and Matt Smith hold Elijah, 3, who is the son of Keisha Smith, Shakira’s sister and Matt’s daughter, who died by suicide in March. Picture: Mark Brake

KEISHA Smith’s father Matt was so worried about his daughter on the day she died that he broke down the door of her home when he couldn’t reach her.

Inside, he found his “all-round precious and perfect” 21-year-old had taken her life, leaving behind her three-year-old son Elijah.

Panicked, Mr Smith and his partner Mel Bealhad raced to Keisha’s western suburbs unit on March 14 this year after she had stopped answering her phone.

“When I got there something just didn’t sit right with me so I kicked Keisha’s back door in, walked through her house, opened the bathroom door and … and found her,” Mr Smith recalled through tears.

“I just screamed. I thought I could save her … she was already gone.”

Keisha Smith took her own life in March this year, aged 21. Picture: Supplied by family.

Keisha was a young mother to her son, Elijah, who is aged 3. Picture: Supplied by family.

A week earlier the young mum had been taken to hospital after a suicide attempt, but went home the following day – and no one in her family was told.

“We knew Keish was troubled but we really thought she’d come to us before she’d do something like that,” a devastated Mr Smith said.

“She was a great mum. Elijah meant the world, he meant everything to her.

“She just found it very hard to deal with her demons, I guess.”

Keisha had struggled with anxiety and depression and had been prescribed medication.

A week before her death she was taken by ambulanceto the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department.

But Mr Smith, 43, said the family only found out about the incident after her death.

She was assessed by a mental health team and either discharged, or decided to leave, “the very next morning”, he said.

“Six days later she’s no longer with us.”

Matt Smith holds photos of his daughter, Keisha, who took her own life in March. Mr Smith is with his partner Mel Beal and daughter Shakira Smith, holding his daughter Letty-Maree, 2, and Keisha’s son Elijah, 3. Picture: Mark Brake.

Her family has questioned why Keisha was not detained in hospital longer or admitted to a mental health service.

“I know she was 21 and legally she was an adult but why was her next of kin not notified that she had tried to hurt herself,” said Ms Beal, 42, who Keisha called mum.

“Why did they just let her go?”

Medical practitioners in South Australia have the power to place people in mental distress under a 24-hour hold but a psychiatrist review is needed to extend that to a week, and then again up to 42 days.

Mr Smith said he had also been “trying to get into a psychiatrist” since Keisha’s death.

“The system is backed up,” he said.

“There’s a lack of services … but there’s still people out there that need help and there’s nowhere to go,” he said.

The Advertiser has launched the Can We Talk campaign to encourage people who are struggling to seek help and to lobby for improvements to the mental health system.

Keisha Smith with her son Elijah. Picture supplied by family.

Keisha’s family say Elijah meant the world to her. Picture supplied by family.

Keisha’s family has remembered her as a supportive daughter, sister and mother who loved animals, music and visits to the beach.

“As a kid she was a really happy baby – smart, intelligent,” Mr Smith remembered.

“We used to call her Matilda because she was too bloody smart for our family. She was a real bookworm.

“She was very hard-headed when she wanted to be but she had a soft heart.

“Keish was just like the rest of us, just looking to be loved.”

As a teenager, Keisha had wanted to be a vet but dropped out of school after her anxiety made it too difficult to attend.

The young mum had been in a relationship which ended about three months before her death.

Her son Elijah now lives with Mr Smith, Ms Bealand their children.

“He has his mum’s curls. When you look into his eyes you see his mum,” Mr Smith said. “We remind him every day of how much she loved him.

“It’s hard some days … we don’t ever stop missing her.”

Born in Hobart, Keisha lived in Tasmania with her mother and 7 siblings until the age of 14, when concerns were raised about the children’s welfare.

They were relocated to Adelaide to live with Mr Smith and Ms Beal.

The blended family of 12 lived in a three-bedroom house in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Ms Beal said all the children “classed themselves as brothers and sisters”.

“Life was very busy, very challenging, but they were good kids. Keisha was a good big sister,” she said. “She’d do anything for you, that’s the kind of heart she had.”

Younger sister Shakira, 20, remembered exploring with Keisha as kids, sharing a bedroom and clothes and filming videos of the pair signing together.

“We never really had that (strong) relationship with our mum so she was like my mum,” Shakira said.

“She was the person I went to when I needed help. She always put everyone first.

“She was everything to me. I would have done anything for her. It’s so f***ing hard without her.”

Shakira pleaded with other young people who were struggling to confide in family or friends.

“Don’t be scared to ask for help,” she said.

“If you really need someone they will listen. You don’t have to deal with any of it on your own.”

Surge in SA youth seeking emergency support

By Lauren Thomas-Nehmy

The number of South Australian children seeking emergency mental health care through the Kids Helpline has more than doubled in a year, a confronting industry report shows.

The Kids Helpline 2021 Insights for South Australia report revealed the organisation responded to 528 emergency requests for help last year, a 101 per cent rise on the 263 in 2020.

Of those emergency requests, 38 per cent were related to a suicide attempt – a 68 per cent increase from the previous year and the leading reason for seeking emergency care within SA.

Kids Helpline virtual services manager Tony Fitzgerald said the increases were consistent across the country.

“A lot of it has was driven by concerns around Covid-19 and the increased impact of mental health and the general emotional wellbeing on young people,” he said.

“There was also an increase in demand to our service generally and with that increase we saw a rise in those types of contacts.”

Compared to interstate, SA children were more likely to seek support for suicide-related concerns.

Mr Fitzgerald confirmed help-seeking behaviours had changed – a positive outcome in his eyes.

“The fact that they’re reaching out for support and they are getting the help that they need is a real positive in our book,” he said.

The data also revealed children aged 10-14 were the most likely to request help.

General practitioner and Beyond Blue lead clinical adviser Grant Blashki believes the younger generations are more comfortable having open conversations about mental health, but don’t always have access to the support they need.

“We don’t have a magic wand to instantly fix it, but it’s important that we keep developing positive policies … and there’s lots that we can do to make sure we’ve got crisis support services ready to go for young people,” he said.