Suicide rates Melbourne: Frankston, Mornington Peninsula revealed as self-harm hotspots
Two seaside areas have Melbourne’s highest suicide numbers, alarming figures reveal, as services grapple with a crisis gripping the state.
South East
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Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula have been revealed as Melbourne’s suicide hot spots.
New data obtained by the Leader revealed 120 Frankston residents took their own lives between 2015-19, ahead of 110 people on the Peninsula.
The Australian Institute Health and Welfare statistics showed Wyndham as Melbourne’s third-worst affected area on 106 deaths, followed by Boroondara (89) Melton and Bacchus Marsh (87) and the Yarra Ranges (85).
The areas with the least suicides were Keilor (20) Sunbury (27) and Essendon (32).
Last month, data from the Coroner’s Court revealed there had been 580 deaths by suicide this year compared with 600 at the same time last year.
Victorian Mental Health Minister James Merlino said there had been about a five per cent increase in mental health emergency department presentations this year.
He said it was a higher percentage for young people and there had also been an increase in counselling services sought.
Cribb Point man Tom Bell, who runs workshops to “help blokes build emotional muscle” said men living in regional areas were three times more likely to die by suicide than those from the city.
“The Aussie stereotype that men don’t talk about their feelings is really strong in the regions,” he said.
“I know the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston are classified as part of metropolitan Melbourne but they operate more like regions and are a hotspot for suicide.”
Mr Bell is a head facilitator for Tomorrow Man which holds workshops for school boys and their parents, men in amateur and elite sporting clubs and at workplaces.
In 2019 alone the national organisation helped 25,000 males.
Frankston man James Verity, 25, was just 14 years old when his brother Josh, 21, took his own life on Mother’s Day in 2009.
Mr Verity told the Leader it had taken him more than a decade to be able to speak with others about the tragedy.
“The police came knocking on my door and my whole world stopped … I’ve never really articulated how I felt about it before,” he said.
“The hardest part is trying to understand that this person you knew, loved and helped raise you is no longer on this earth anymore.
“It’s not like they’ve gone on a holiday overseas and you can call them … they’ve completely disappeared, and you’re stuck there trying to put the pieces back together.”
Mr Verity said he didn’t know why his brother died by suicide, but believes the death could have been triggered by financial stress or social isolation.
“He strayed away from his friends as they continued onto their careers and education … I think it left him feeling a little isolated and fuelled on whatever he was feeling,” Mr Verity said.
To raise awareness for men’s mental health and help cope with his grief, Mr Verity created the Frankston Mostume campaign as part of the Movember movement.
As well as growing a moustache, Mr Verity ran two kilometres in a different costume each day around Frankston’s streets.
“My way of addressing (the grief) was to do it in a funny way and embarrassing myself every day,” he said.
“People would have seen a guy running down the street in a costume, but think later, the reason is because people are committing suicide every day … (like with people suffering depression) there’s such a deeper level compared to what you see.”
The Cape Schanck National Golf Course golf operations supervisor said he received an outpouring of support on social media from the community and people who had also been impacted by suicide.
“With this campaign it has been quite liberating, being able to talk about it and be open about it, and have people talk to me and say thank you,” he said.
“The key message was to raise money for men’s health and bring smiles back to the community after COVID-19.
“I hope people did smile … even if it was just one person.”
To donate to Mr Verity’s campaign, click here.
