In a bid to address growing concerns over suicide, Lifeline Australia is urging people within the nation’s multicultural communities to seek crisis support when in need.
The charity’s CEO Pete Shmigel highlighted that the growing suicide emergency is not something that discriminates, with devastating impacts on friends and families across all cultural groups.
“I want to express our sorrow at hearing of the recent events. It’s truly heartbreaking to see reports of suicide among our multicultural communities, or indeed any community,” said Mr Shmigel.
“Whether you’re an international student under pressure to perform or someone feeling isolated by cultural, faith, ethnic or linguistic barriers, including the migration and settlement process, Lifeline’s 24/7 crisis services are there for you. Our highly-skilled and kind-hearted Crisis Supporters can help you cope with what you’re going through and provide appropriate referral services.”
Just a fortnight ago, Indian citizen Deepak Singh living in Melbourne’s west ended his life prematurely due to concerns over his visa arrangements, reported SBS.
While there are currently support services available for non-English speakers, Mr Shmigel added that they are urgently working towards becoming more accessible by ensuring services are culturally appropriate and safe.
Where such information is disclosed, current data shows that some seven per cent of calls to the charity’s crisis line are from people who speak a language other than English at home.
“This shows that Lifeline’s 24/7 caring and non-judgement services do support people from all walks of life … However, we’re currently exploring opportunities to improve the way we provide support to multicultural communities, including through our nightly online Crisis Support Chat service and proposed Crisis Text service.”
For crisis or suicide prevention support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp. A free interpreting service for people who do not speak English is also available through this number (cost of a local call from landlines; additional charges apply for mobiles).