Empowered communities are key to overcoming Indigenous youth suicide, says the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.
Watch: Stan Grant's full interview with Tom Calma:
"There are the solutions that have been offered to governments over many years now," Dr Calma says.
"(We need) a consistent policy approach, a consistency of funding, and most importantly empowering the community to take control of their own lives.
"Instead of having somebody come in and try to dictate and determine how a person or a community functions, we should be going back to the community."
The comments come in the wake of an apparent suicide of a 10-year-old girl in the Western Australian community of Looma. It's the nineteenth time an Indigenous person in WA has taken their own life this year.
related reading:
Stan Grant: This stops now
Dr Calma acknowledged there'd been a steady stream of funding towards suicide prevention in recent years, but says the approach has been "very erratic".
"The first thing we need to do is get the governments and all the various departments to work together and see this as a holistic issue," he says.
"Work with the communities to address employment, education, look at addressing substance abuse and violence within those communities."
Watch: WA community rocked by 10-year-old's suicide
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact on 1300 224 636, on 13 11 14 or on 1300 659 467.
Source: NITV
