Page 3472 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 23 November 2021
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review. Winnunga has a full-time presence within the AMC. The Winnunga model of care, as a stand-alone, community-controlled service in the AMC, is the first of its kind nationally to be implemented in a correctional facility.
Winnunga provides culturally appropriate, trauma-informed and responsive health care, specifically developed to meet the complex health and social support needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at AMC, and includes health assessments, GP mental health care plans and focused psychological strategies. This is an innovative approach to investing in addressing complex underlying health, social and emotional wellbeing issues experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in AMC that have contributed to periods of incarceration.
In 2021-22, $1.348 million will be provided to Winnunga for the Winnunga model of care at the AMC. The increase in funding for the Winnunga model of care will meet the commitment to fully implement the recommendations of the 2016 Moss inquiry. The funding will expand the current service delivery through increasing much-needed psychologist hours. The increased funding also provides for more registered nurses providing daily services to Winnunga clients at the AMC.
In the 2021-22 budget, the ACT government has invested $2.212 million in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention service for the ACT. This is an important initiative which will focus on community-based suicide prevention, intervention, postvention and aftercare. Suicide is not only an individual issue; the impact of suicide ripples through the community, profoundly affecting people’s families, friends and peers. Unfortunately, the suicide rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is double that of non-Indigenous people. Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and we must respond to this.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention service will be delivered by a community provider, with the specific aim of being culturally appropriate and able to work with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Members in this place will know that my favourite word is “co-design”, so I am glad to say that this has been an integral part of the development of this service. Thank you especially to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Working Group, Winnunga Nimmityjah and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body for sharing your experiences during the consultations.
Finally, I would like to thank my colleague Minister Shane Rattenbury, the former Minister for Mental Health, who first progressed this work through the 2020-21 COVID-19 mental health support package. I am so glad to be able to further progress this service. I am proud to be able to speak in this place on this important service, which will respond to the unique needs of ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the spectrum of need from suicide prevention to postvention and aftercare.
One of the most important things we can do for our community is to ensure that our community mental health services can offer early support when Canberrans need it most. This can help people to stay as well as possible, for as long as possible. It means
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