At least five Ballarat families prepare to spend first Christmas without teens as community continues grieving
At least five Ballarat families are preparing to mark their first Christmases without their teenagers as leaders work to prevent future tragedies.
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While most are excited to gather with their loved ones throughout the festive season, at least five Ballarat families are preparing to mark their first Christmas Day without their children.
The regional city has been rocked by suicide after suicide this year, including at least five teenagers.
These include talented sportsman Rohan Cosgriff, 17, who took his life in late July.
Apprentice Nick Watts, 16, took his life in August and weeks later his girlfriend Bridie Cocks, 15, took her life.
The latest data from the Coroner’s Court of Victoria reveals 621 Victorians have died by suicide this year, continuing an upwards trend since 2020.
While the majority of suicides were by older Victorians, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare notes suicide is the leading cause of death in Australian children and adolescents.
The data reveals 13 Victorians under the age of 18 took their lives in the year ending October 2022, in addition to 52 people aged between 18 and 24.
Ballarat Community Health chief executive Sean Duffy, who is also chair of the Ballarat Suicide Prevention Network, acknowledged the community had been experiencing a “crisis”.
“It’s been a very tough year,” he said, noting the cohort had been through a lot in recent years and needed greater support.
“When you think about what this cohort of young people has gone through in the last three years with Covid and then compound that with this level of trauma, I’m not sure anyone has got complete resilience to be able to weather that storm.
“Resilience is important but we also understand there is a limitation to it — there’s only so much that all of us can tolerate.”
Mr Duffy said the trauma of what had occurred during the 2022 school year could “linger for a long time”.
“There are different people in different situations and those who have been directly and indirectly impacted,” he noted.
This includes family members, friends, classmates, teachers, sporting clubs, neighbours and first responders.
It is why Headspace Ballarat, which is auspiced by BCH, has stepped up its efforts to educate and provide more support in response.
“It’s about thinking about the here and now but also about planning for the future,” Mr Duffy said, adding the youth mental health not-for-profit had been in “constant dialogue” with schools throughout the year.
“... lifting the awareness of families, support staff, teachers and the general community about the importance of early intervention and the importance of accessing services that are available,” he said.
“But beyond that, encouraging young people to draw on their natural supports around them – their friends, family and people in their immediate circles.”
As the year draws to an end the challenge for many vulnerable young people is surviving the turbulent emotions arising from the festive period, as well as the summer holidays, with students no longer in day-to-day contact with their peers, teachers and school welfare and support staff.
Mr Duffy advised parents and carers to ensure holidays were structured and maintained a level of routine, but also creating plans that would keep them active, occupied and bring them a level of enjoyment.
He also stressed while schools would close, professional services would remain open for young people who needed to use them.
“The Headspace service has always been there and I’m confident anybody who makes contact with Headspace will be seen really quickly,” said.
Though with each young life lost one too many, the crisis has shone a light on how the health system is failing people experiencing mental ill health.
“We know that our mental health system is broken and there is a plan to reform that but we have a long way to go,” Mr Duffy said.
Reforms are on the cards as a result of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
Its final report, tabled in March 2021, included 65 recommendations.
In its 2022-23 latest budget the state government announced it would invest a further $1.3bn to continue building a new mental health and wellbeing system.
This funding built on the $3.8bn delivered in the previous state budget.
Also chair of the Ballarat Suicide Prevention Network, Mr Duffy said there needed to be “significantly more investment” into mental health education, training and raising awareness.
“It’s one of those things we need significantly more investment into. We really need to upstream prevention in the early years and into parenting support because we know that 75 per cent of mental health conditions develop between the ages of 16 and 25,” he said.
“So the education and training will need to start in primary school but be in combination with better treatment and psychological supports.”
In addition to education and training starting in primary schools, he believed there needed to be more accessible treatment and psychological supports available to youths struggling with their mental health.
“We cannot have a situation where people cannot access services or feel like they’re not accessible,” he said.
“We certainly need to do a lot better than what the system is currently delivering.”
It comes following a recent announcement that the state government would expand the Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) centre program to the Grampians region.
The announcement has been welcomed by Grampians Health, which described it as a “much-needed centre”.
YPARC will offer residential short and medium-term treatment and support for young people aged between 16 and 25 who are living with mental illness or experiencing psychological distress.
“This much-needed centre will provide early intervention care and recovery-focused treatment and will consist of a contemporary 10-bed facility, designed to create a welcoming, safe and therapeutic environment for young people to recover,” it said in a statement.
“YPARC will also include a well-being and social skills education program, which will focus on developing the individual’s resilience and confidence to leave the centre.
“Learning how to grow and thrive in the community is a critical aspect of managing and learning to live well with mental health issues.
“For many, they will need support and guidance to live independently, navigate connections and relationships with others, find employment, and know when to reach out for further help down the track.
“Family, carers and significant others are an important part of this education program.”
Along with partnering with local services, Grampians Health Mental Health Services is also working with services further afield.
It has developed primary and secondary consultation processes with the Royal Children’s Hospital to access specialist Child and Adolescent mental health care to support youths with complex mental health conditions.
Meanwhile, it is also working with Orygen Youth Health to increase access to its Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) program, which provides psychosocial support for young people in Ballarat and the wider Grampians region, including Ararat and the Wimmera.
Bridie’s dad, Richard Cocks, earlier told the Herald Sun his family’s world would “never be the same again” after the loss of their “bright” and “bubbly” girl.
“Don’t be afraid to reach out, say you’re struggling and ask for help, especially in your darkest day,” Bridie’s mum Joan Cocks added.
“Someone will always be there.”
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