In Australia, there is a continuing gap in culturally responsive suicide prevention for multicultural communities. Building upon insights and learnings from the 2024 Embrace Suicide Prevention Roundtable and the Lived Experience Panel (held at the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference), a clear call emerged: the need to cultivate safe spaces for multicultural community leaders and members to explore and express their needs, and ultimately have those needs met.
One panelist from the Lived Experience Panel powerfully captured the core themes we had heard from stakeholders across the two sessions in one sentiment, by stating ‘Suicide doesn’t discriminate so our services shouldn’t either’. This statement underscores the urgent need to build trust and genuine connection between services and communities to improve outcomes for multicultural communities.
When participants were asked for their input into how to build this trust to ultimately develop a shared understanding of the suicide prevention needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, they emphasised the need to foster opportunities for open dialogue, active listening and genuine community engagement.
This panel, hosted by the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health, will elevate lived experience voices by featuring a facilitator and panel of 5 multicultural lived experience representatives. It will spotlight key themes learned through the work of the Embrace Suicide Prevention Pilot Project and offer insights from its Lived Experience Group.
This is a significant opportunity to bring together community leaders and the sector in a discussion focused on the needs and priorities of multicultural communities in suicide prevention and practical approaches to supporting communities in this context.