Victorian towns hit hardest by fatal mental health crisis

Regional Victorians struggling with mental health at vastly higher rates than their city counterparts, as the regions most affected by sudden death are revealed.

Regional Victorians are struggling with mental health and suicide at vastly higher rates than their city counterparts, new data shows.

They are also more likely to be isolated and are faced with the ongoing stigma associated with seeking help, which locals say is driving the issue.

The findings, from analysis by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), show areas including Wangaratta, Benalla, Barwon and Gippsland had the highest number of people suiciding per 100,000 people between 2015 and 2019.

Kelly Barnes — who recently won the VIC Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award — is making it her mission to break down barriers and help support regional Victorians doing it tough. Picture: Emily Wilson

Equally concerning — and tragically sobering — was the actual number of people who died by suicide in the same period.

Geelong lost 136 lives over the four years, while Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula mourned the loss of 120 and 110 people respectively.

Barwon Child, Youth and Family Services in Geelong CEO Sandy Morrison said the lack of connection and missing out on important school milestones this year had been particularly challenging for youth in the regional hub.

The organisation, which runs Headspace Geelong, saw numbers at the facility rise to more than double the national average in the year to June 2020 — with a total of 1600 young people seeking help.

“We’ve seen that this year has been incredibly difficult for young people in our community with COVID-19 changing the way they work, study and connect with others,” he said.

“Some young people need support for their mental health presenting with issues such as anxiety and depression while others are requiring support for work and study.”

News Corp Australia this week launches Mental Health 360, bringing together mental health experts and those touched by it first-hand. Panel experts include former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry, Sydney University’s Professor Ian Hickie, child psychiatrist Professor Jon Jureidini, Chris Turton who lost his son Dan to suicide, Kids Helpline CEO Tracy Adams, country music star and Rural Adversity Mental Health Program ambassador Melinda Schneider and Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Together with Sky News’ Peter Stefanovic and senior journalists Sue Dunlevy, Ben Pike, Natasha Bita and Kathy McCabe, Mental Health 360 dissects what is arguably the biggest issue impacting Australians.

Western District local Kelly Barnes, 47, said it could often be hard for people in regional communities to “reach out.”

Ms Barnes — who recently won the VIC Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award — is making it her mission to break down barriers and help support regional Victorians doing it tough.

She’s about to launch the Mates Working Dog School, which will combine her love for her dogs and the power of mateship to help farmers stay connected.

“The idea is to get people off the farm and learning new skills but also opening up the conversation for mental health,” Ms Barnes, who has had her own mental health battles, said.

“Once you have a conversation with someone … your next-door neighbour … it takes a weight off.”

Nationally, natural disasters, a lack of mental health services and job opportunities have made rural and regional areas hot spots for suicide.

The AIHW figures show all but one of the 20 deadliest postcodes for suicide are in rural Queensland, Western Australian, the Northern Territory and Tasmania.

The statistics come as the country struggles to recover from the economic fallout caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Orygen executive director and 2010 Australian of the Year Professor Pat McGorry said the statistics “are so shocking – it’s like a war zone”.

“If the cause of death was something different – like shark attacks or car accidents – it would be in people‘s faces.

“But because of the taboo, and that it is not spoken about freely, it is a sign that suicide is a partially hidden death toll.

“Even though there are hot spots in some areas with twice the rate of others, there’s a uniformity of suicide that has really struck me.”

Gippsland was among the Victorian areas most affected by suicide. Picture: Josie Withers

January and February are the deadliest months for suicides, according to the AIHW, with the most common contributing factors to suicide including a history of self-harm, disruption of family by separation and divorce, relationship problems, the disappearance and death of a family member and legal problems.

Between 2017 and 2019 the contributing factors which saw significant increases included relationship problems, social exclusion and rejection and a family history of mental illness.

Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre policy co-director Professor Ian Hickie said employment, education and opportunities are also big factors.

“In rural and regional areas unemployment rates are higher, there are more poor people and opportunities are less for employment and participation,” Prof Hickie said.

“There are also economies which are subject to more rapid changes in fortune whether that be natural events – such as floods and other natural disasters – or through the opening and closing of key industries.

“Young people, indigenous people, people with very limited education and skills are over represented – all of which create a background higher intrinsic suicide rates in those communities.”

Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Nieves Murray said the causes of suicide are complex. “There are various factors that may contribute to suicide and they aren’t always linked to mental ill-health,” she said.

She also said that psychosocial risk factors – how social factors like housing impact on an individual – are associated causes of death for 90 per cent of suicides.

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