‘Imminent risk’: Spike in kids experiencing suicidal thoughts

Kids Helpline has seen the highest number of children ever experiencing suicidal feelings, with at least 2000 given emergency support after being deemed at “imminent” risk.

Kids Helpline has seen the highest number of children ever experiencing suicidal feelings, with at least 2000 given emergency support after being deemed at “imminent” risk.

Australia’s only dedicated helpline for children, run by Yourtown, said it was seeing a significant increase in suicide related contacts requiring an urgent “duty of care” response.

Yourtown CEO Tracy Adams said the helpline provided 4608 duty-of-care interventions in the 2022-23 financial year.

“Of these duty-of-care responses, 2000 were undertaken where young people were at immediate risk of suicide and required emergency intervention,” she said.

“This is higher than we have ever experienced.”

A duty-of-care intervention is when Kids Helpline contacts police, child safety or ambulance when a child or young person is “deemed to be at imminent risk”.

Minister for Health and Mental Health Shannon Fentiman making funding announcement for Kids Helpline and Lifeline.

The data, released today, shows that suicide-related contacts from young people to have increased steadily since 2018 and remain higher than pre-Covid-19 levels.

“We need to take this opportunity to raise awareness of suicide and to promote action that will reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts by children and young children,” Ms Adams said.

“Our hope is to encourage conversations and spread awareness in an effort to prevent youth suicide.”

Ms Adams said early intervention was critical and could mean young people experiencing mental distress and suicidal ideations can bounce back.

“We need to have children and young people stay connected, and as a community, we need to continue to normalise help-seeking,” she said.

The shocking data comes as the Kids Helpline Impact Report for last year found that only two in five children and young people were able to get through to a counsellor.

The report also found that a child or young person attempts to contact the service every 80 seconds with emotional wellbeing, mental health, family relationships and suicide among the top concerns in 2022.

Yourtown virtual services manager Tony FitzGerald said the service was concerned that calls were going unanswered.

“We know that the pressure on the mental health sector at large, with young people not being able to access for instance psychology services, not being able to access those face-to-face supports, so they are coming to us for that additional support which means that places more pressure on us … we are a very accessible service but we need that additional counsellor resourcing to be able to attend to that demand,” he said.

Kids Helpline is Australia’s only national 24/7 counselling and support service specifically for children and young people aged 5 to 25 years.

Kids Helpline is available as a free call on 1800 55 1800 or online.