By Dr Bibiana Chan
The Community Flower Studio does not condone violence. What happened last Saturday, April 13, was a tragedy that saddened the entire world. I received messages from Vancouver and Ottawa checking on my safety. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and loved ones. The media reported that the 40-year-oldattacker had a long history of mental health issues and had been diagnosed at age 17. What has happened to Joel in the past 23 years? Did he fall through the cracks in services? When he left the public mental health system for the private sector, was his
file simply closed and shelved? These questions need answers.
Ms. Georgie Harman, the CEO of Beyond Blue, appeared on ABC Breakfast on the following Monday (15 April), to explain that mental illness does not equate to violence. As someone who has worked tirelessly to break down the stigma attached to mental ill-health, I felt as though all the hard work on destigmatization by the Community Flower Studio was undone overnight. We need to work even harder to build a supportive community for young people facing mental health challenges. This is the key message from the CEO of Mental Health Australia, Carolyn Nikoloski,
“We know that half of the population will experience mental health challenges over our lifetime. And as SANE Australia reports, people living with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence. We also know that there continues to be an urgent need to adequately fund and reform our mental health system.”
It is ironic that just two days before the tragedy, on April 11, leading mental health
organizations (Black Dog Institute, BEING – Mental Health Consumers, Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and WayAhead) issued a media
release calling on the Minns Government to fully fund mental health in NSW.
“The fact is, the NSW mental health system is critically underfunded and on the brink of
collapse. Across the state, we are seeing mental health services stretched to their limits; the
mental health workforce is burned out, and people who need help are falling through the
cracks,” says Professor Samuel Harvey, Executive Director and Chief Scientist at Black Dog
Institute.
The ABC audio file (9 minutes) features an interview with Prof. Patrick McGorry, who
discussed some alarming statistics regarding the underfunding of mental health services in
relation to its share of the burden of disease. I hope that with compassion and a deeper
understanding of mental illness, politicians will provide much-needed community mental
health services that are co-designed and co-produced by peer workers with lived experience.
Note:
* If you are interested to find out the ‘reality’ of someone with schizophrenia, you may like to check out the movie, ‘A Beautiful Mind’. There is a critique of this movie by The Ohio State University: A Beautiful Mind: Analyzing How Schizophrenia is Portrayed in Movies versus Reality
* This is an article on ABC about the stories of the attacker tracing back to his diagnosis at age 17.
Carers taking care of their loved ones experiencing mental health challenges require support too. Read this article to learn more.
Stan Grant, an Indigenous journalist & author also shared his reflections on the Bondi Junction Tragedy: Making Sense of the Bondi Junction Attack.
A personal word from Lived Experience Australia: https://mailchi.mp/livedexperienceaustralia/supportingourfriends?e=4ab434b786
Resources by various organisations:
Beyondblue: Grief, trauma and critical incidents
Mental Health Australia CEO Updates
Some helplines:
Head to Health: 1800 595 212
Lifeline: 13 11 14
SANE Australia Helpline: 1800 18 SANE (7236)
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 46 36
Headspace: 1800 650 850 or
Reachhttps://au.reachout.com/Out:
NSW Health has also bolstered its mental health supports, which can be reached on 1800 011 511
If you would like to continue this conversation with the author, please contact Dr Bibiana Chan via email: communityflowerstudio@yahoo.com
讓我們來談談吧!
上週六（4月13日）在邦迪交匯口購物中心摘擊刺殺傷人事件，造成六死十二人傷，這 確實叫人震驚! 其中一名死者是中國留學生。這是非常悲痛的。這是一場讓全世界 哀傷的悲劇。 我收到了來自溫哥華和渥太華的訊息，詢問我的安全。我思念受害者和他們的親人，並為他們代禱。據媒體報道，這名40歲的襲擊者長期面對精神健康困擾是17歲時被診斷出來的。 他是否陷入了服務的裂縫？ 當他離開公共精神衛生系統進入私家部門時，他的檔案是否就被關閉並擱置呢？ 這些問題都需要得到解答的。
Beyond Blue 總幹士 Georgie Harman 女士今天早上（4 月 15 日）在國家電視台 ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Breakfast 早晨節目中解釋說，精神疾病並不等同於暴力。Beyondblue整理了這個資料來幫助人們處理負面情緒。壓抑負面情緒會產生長期的不良後果。 讓我們來談談它吧。
澳洲心理健康協會 (Mental Health Australia) 總幹士 Carolyn Nikoloski 發出關鍵訊息, 呼籲大家互相支持 度過 這個充滿挑戰的時期,
“我們知道，一半的人在一生中都會經歷心理健康挑戰。 正如澳洲 SANE 所報導，患有精神 疾病的人 更有可能成為暴力的受害者。我們也知道，仍然迫切需要為我們的 精神衛生系統提供充足的撥款, 並進行改革。”
I’m writing this almost a week after the Bondi tragedy, so I’ve had time to contemplate the awful effects of that day. I feel there is more understanding of the needs of a decent, reliable mental health program in our country. I totally agree that mental health in Australia is underfunded and that far more suitable mental health facilities should be available.
However I can’t agree that the magnificent work done by CFS has been lost. If it makes anyone feel better and accepted it’s a win. A setback, yes, but CFS gives young people hope and also a measure of acceptance in our diverse community.
We must learn from this and remember the courage of those who risked their lives to save others.
Never give up!
Thank you for your sharing. We do need to build resilience of the community so young people can be better supported.
Yes, hats off to the brave female constable , those confronted the attacker and the first respondents to the scene as well as everyone who offered a helping hand to the injured.