Coffs Harbour mental health support is in crisis

DEAR News Of The Area,

WHY does Coffs Harbour have one of the highest suicide rates in the state? Besides the lack of affordable housing, difficulty getting a job and other social welfare issues, we have almost zero public services for mental health care or psychosocial support.

There is absolutely nowhere to go in Coffs Harbour to seek information or support if you need it – if you feel depressed, anxious, or isolated. If you are in serious mental health distress the only place you can go to is the emergency department to try to seek admission to hospital.

Elsewhere in the state there are wellbeing hubs (we have one exclusively for veterans and not the general community) or safe spaces/havens. These are places that anyone in distress or needing access to information can go to. Despite trying to establish one here in Coffs Harbour for close to a decade, we are no closer to actually getting one.

As a matter of urgency the Mid North Coast Local Health District must establish a safe haven in Coffs Harbour, as they have done in Port Macquarie and Kempsey. We need more psychiatrists (not a FIFO one day a month), psychologists (not social workers or counsellors), and a safe haven. Every suicide is a preventable death. The NSW health department needs to provide facilities and staff to ensure that no one in Coffs Harbour feels there is no other alternative.

Stop asking us “R U OK” and reminding us to ask for help.

We aren’t OK, and we are crying out for help.

Please stop telling people to call crisis lines, go to the emergency department, join a waiting list, or just go away. Make mental health in Coffs Harbour a government priority and demonstrate that with services available in the community.

For anyone who cares about mental health services, and wants to do something to reduce these statistics, we’d love you to join our advocacy group Brainstorm Mid North Coast.

Regards,

Dr Brenda Foran (PhD),

Brainstorm Mid North Coast,

Coffs Harbour.