SPR30831 WLF SPA WhitePaper v12 - Flipbook - Page 4
Foreword
Suicide Prevention Australia
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a unique
crisis: one which has resulted in more than 400,000 lives
lost around the globe at the time of writing this paper.
Lives that we must remember.
We also recognise the impact of COVID-19 extends to millions of others,
many of whom have lost their jobs, been separated from their loved ones,
and – perhaps for the first time – are struggling with their mental health
and wellbeing.
Suicide Prevention Australia is the national peak body for the suicide
prevention sector. We count among our members the largest and many
of the smallest suicide prevention and mental health not-for-profits,
practitioners, researchers and leaders. We are proud to publish this
paper in partnership with Wesley Mission, which brings more than a
century of expertise in compassionate care for many of the most
vulnerable in our community.
We have focused on the broader social and economic factors that we
know link with distress. This is an important departure from a mental
health specific approach, which fails to consider the many Australians in
distress who do not experience mental illness but are in crisis because of
their life circumstances. People who are out of work, who are
experiencing violence at home, who are homeless or who have a drug or
alcohol addiction and are vulnerable to distress and suicidality.
We have provided a positive roadmap of proposals to address the needs
of these groups in Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Importantly, we have focused on protective factors – solutions that if
taken up, will do much to ensure the mental health and wellbeing impacts
of the COVID-19 response are minimised.
We are pleased to see the Australian Government proactively consider
the mental health and wellbeing of Australians in its National Mental
Health Pandemic Response Plan. Drawing from recent evidence and on
the ground practice, this paper is designed to provide government with a
series of considerations to inform the rollout of the plan. We hope these
considerations prove to be useful in designing a considered approach to
our recovery effort; one that considers the opportunity that we are
presented with to transform our economy and society for the better.
Nieves Murray
Chief Executive Officer
Reducing distress in the community following the COVID-19 pandemic
June 2020
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