The federal government has announced 1.1 million dollars worth of funding to tackle suicide rates amongst lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex communities across Australia. The funding will be supplied to the National LGBTI Health Alliance for expansion of their MindOUT health promotion strategy.
In a statement announcing the funding Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler said,
‘The LGBTI community reports higher levels of depression, anxiety and other mental health problems with evidence suggesting that they are 3.5 to 14 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general community.’
Speaking to OUTinPerth, Dani Wright Chair of the Alliance’s Mental Health Working Group welcomed the funding announcement,
‘It’s groundbreaking for there to be commonwealth funding that feeds into strategic national frameworks.’
Wright highlighted that more research was required to understand which intervention strategies are most effective and that different parts of the country have different needs.
‘The needs of young gay men in rural areas will be different to those in of transgender and intersex people. We need a comprehensive approach.’ said Wright.
The funding will distributed over the next two and a half years. There is no indication at this point how much of the funding will be distributed to Western Australian projects.
If you need immediate assistance or support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
Graeme Watson
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