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Youth Suicide

Jail rate for First Nations children is soaring at an alarming rate

Aboriginal youth repeat offender

Figures show that the number of First Nations children being jailed is rising enormously, as the tide of social dysfunction in urban and regional centres has never been properly addressed.

More than 250 indigenous youth in northwestern New South Wales have been sentenced to juvenile prison terms during the past five years compared with only 12 non-Aboriginal children, The Australian newspaper reported.

Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show the national rate of Aboriginal juvenile incarceration has risen to 31 times the non-indigenous rate and rising.

Nine out of ten people in Western Australian youth detention are severely impaired

Nine out of ten people in Western Australian youth detention are severely impaired in at least one area of brain function such as memory, language, attention, and executive function (planning and understanding consequences). Such deficits would strongly impact on their ability to conform with legal instructions, and with other aspects of the justice system such as being interviewed in court. New research published also found one in three of the young people assessed had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. [node:read-more:link]

First Nations suicide is not just an issue, it's a 'humanitarian crisis'

Of all middle and high income nations with a recent colonial oppressor history, Australia has the widest divide of its measurable indicators between first peoples and the rest of the nation. ATSISPEP is assessing the effectiveness of existing suicide prevention services and programs. In the last year we've buried an 11-year-old, a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, a 17-year-old. The Northern Territory and Western Australia have some of the highest median wages in the world but also some of the highest rates of poverty. [node:read-more:link]

Youth suicide at crisis levels among Indigenous population, experts warn

Jordan Chapman

Teenager Jordan Chapman can name half a dozen young people in his circle of friends who have taken their own lives. "On Facebook one night she (a friend) just inboxed me, seeing how was I going but I didn't have enough time to reply and I just logged out because I was going to sleep," he said. "I found out the next morning she committed suicide." Asked how someone of his age deals with that kind of loss, 17-year-old Jordan responded quietly: "I don't know. Just play football, go to school, keep my mind off it, don't really think about it." [node:read-more:link]

'They said I was headed to the big prison': A new lost generation

DEREK'S friends got him into stealing in his mid-teens. He was thrown in juvenile detention twice, cut off from his family and missing school, instead surrounded by endless opportunities for further crime. "It's not easy, you got no family to talk to," he said. "They said, as soon as you hit 18, you'll be heading to the big prison, the man's prison." Derek was one of the lucky ones. While on parole, his uncle organised for him to do community service and later to work at a tourism organisation on his traditional Aboriginal country in the Kimberley. [node:read-more:link]

A generation lost if Indigenous youth incarceration rate continues: Amnesty

First Nations youth are 24 times more likely to be incarcerated than other Australian youth, Amnesty International has found. Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty at the National Press Club in Canberra said the rate would have devastating consequences. "We will see another generation lost to failed government policies unless Australian Governments get smarter about this, and fast," Mr Shetty said. "We will see another generation lost to failed government policies unless Australian Governments get smarter about this, and fast" [node:read-more:link]

Truth, not lies, on First Nations suicide rates

Suicides in First Nations communities are linked to extreme poverty and disadvantage from the beginning of life, intergenerational trauma, cultural identity, racialisation and racism. Often alcohol and substance abuse are considered by many as underlying causes but these are not underlying causes and rather they are at best contributing factors borne symptomatically of the conditions above.

This article and links to all many other articles by First Nation suicide expert Gerry Georgatos. [node:read-more:link]

Threats of closing Homeland community leaves our people in limbo and confused

Penny Bidd with the five grandchildren and a great-grandchild she cares for

Penny Bidd, 52, from the Kimberley says the only hope for the five children her daughter left behind, who are now in her care, is to escape even further into the bush, to her homeland on the remote Charnley River Station. She's not the only one, many First Nations people in Western Australia are opting to live "on country" in remote settlements. They see that as the safest and healthiest way of beating grog, drugs and violence, both physical and sexual, that stalks the townships. However, Premier, Colin Barnett has placed a cloud over the viability of the communities. [node:read-more:link]

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