QAMH’s first Reconciliation Action Plan has been formally endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, in the first official move for the community mental health peak body towards building better relations with First Nations peoples.
“We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are often over-represented in mental health statistics,” CEO Jennifer Black said.
According to the latest figures available (2018-2019), the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults reporting ‘high or very high’ levels of psychological distress was 31 per cent. The suicide rate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is twice that of the non-Indigenous population, and suicide occurs at much younger ages.
In keeping with Reconciliation Australia’s framework, QAMH’s first RAP will focus on scoping and building relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, developing our vision for reconciliation and exploring opportunities in our sphere of influence.
Read QAMH’s Reconciliation Action Plan here.
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Media contact:
Emma Griffiths
QAMH Director – Advocacy and Communications
Queensland Alliance for Mental Health
M: 0439 971 080
E: egriffiths@qamh.org.au
QAMH acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, learn and work and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures; and to Elders both past, present and emerging.