the rates of suicide in remote<\/a> and very remote areas of the country are at their highest, with between 20.5 and 24.6 per 100,000, compared to 9.9-10.9 in major cities. <\/p>\nIn Portland, news.com.au uncovered devastating reasons behind the town\u2019s mounting suicide emergency.<\/p>\n
Between 2020 and 2024, the suicide rate across the region was 45 per cent higher than the state average.<\/p>\n
In 2022, 20.7 per cent of the Glenelg Shire\u2019s adult population reported high or very high levels of psychological distress. <\/p>\n
There were 29 deaths by suicide in Glenelg and the Southern Grampians between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Fed-up locals have unveiled a troubled system which appears to have fundamentally neglected the needs of regional Australians, from a lack of services to little funding and isolation.<\/p>\n
But these regional residents believe their suicide epidemic is preventable, with an extraordinary goal to equip 1500 locals with lifesaving training \u2013 although they can\u2019t do it without the support of wider Australia.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s like the Twilight zone\u2019<\/p>\n
The local motel\u2019s after-hours key collection is inside a gaming room.<\/p>\n
Poker machines, bright lights, chatter and cigarette smoke fill the room \u2013 a stark difference to the eerily quiet Tuesday night outside.<\/p>\n
You would be forgiven for believing the entire town had been hiding inside.<\/p>\n
Next to the gaming room \u2013 and part of the motel \u2013 is a drive-thru bottle shop and a restaurant. <\/p>\n
Together, they form a compound that one would never technically have to leave.<\/p>\n
The town has experienced immense grief and loss while also battling a drug, alcohol and gambling problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears as though everything\u2019s okay, but you scratch the surface just a little bit and you realise it\u2019s not,\u201d said local Shae Spry. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like the Twilight zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Spry was born in Portland and is one of the town\u2019s funeral and wedding celebrants and a yoga teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do seem to get a lot of the suicide funerals,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s because of how I approach it, which is head-on. If someone\u2019s died by suicide, I talk about that during the service. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think honesty is important when it comes to mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Ward Nine\u2019 <\/p>\n
Ms Spry\u2019s last funeral for a suicide death was two weeks prior, and so far this year, all have involved men.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re told from a young age to stifle any emotional reaction, perhaps other than anger. I think it\u2019s a societal problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The common thread between men who have died by suicide is often a significant relationship breakdown, a custody battle or extensive changes to their lives, Ms Spry said.<\/p>\n
Portland locals also painted a picture of an underfunded and understaffed hospital, which lacks the beds to appropriately deal with the mounting suicide crisis.<\/p>\n
The closest hospital with an inpatient mental health unit is in Warnambool \u2013 a town over an hour away that has earned the undesirable nickname of \u201cWard Nine\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think of it as the crazy ward and no one wants to go there,\u201d Ms Spry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were to be feeling suicidal, telling someone might result in you being committed and taken away from your home, which feels like you\u2019ve committed a crime.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s happening all the time\u2019<\/p>\n
Local disability and mental health first aid trainer, Susan Roll, is all too familiar with the town\u2019s ailing mental health system.<\/p>\n
Exhausted by the lack of support, Ms Roll and 19 other Portland mothers created an online support forum.<\/p>\n
Between them, they have lost nine children to overdoses or suicide.<\/p>\n
Ms Roll\u2019s son was picked up by police following a suicide attempt and taken to the hospital, where he was interviewed via telehealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he said he was doing fine, as they do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Roll claimed her son was handed five valium and shown the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem here is our hospital doesn\u2019t accept or take in anyone with mental illness unless they\u2019re literally bleeding or about to die. If they\u2019re in a bit of a drug psychosis, they\u2019re often just pushed out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can look at (my son) as an addict, absolutely, because he was. But I look past that in every person that\u2019s an addict, and see the trauma and mental illness behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Roll described a night when her son had entered what she believed was a drug-induced psychosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was hearing voices and he was frightened, so he went to the hospital. They gave him a blanket because it was exceptionally cold and a sticky note with a referral number on it, and put him back out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those in crisis, the barriers to accessing help can seem endless.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to ring the referral line, which is in Melbourne. (The patient) then has to be able to admit to everything that\u2019s going on to be triaged appropriately. Generally, they downplay it when in fact their life\u2019s in crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they\u2019ll be put on a triage and it could be 14 weeks before they get any call back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Roll still recalls the night her son was arrested like it was yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe rang me and just said, \u2018mum, I\u2019m either going to prison, or I\u2019m going to die tonight\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his time in prison, Ms Roll\u2019s son has completed detox, eight drug courses and has requested rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
He has also reconnected with one of his children and multiple other family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in the best place he\u2019s ever been. He\u2019s a different person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy boy\u2019s story is such a generic story. It\u2019s an extraordinary thing to have gone through for us, but I look at it now, and it\u2019s just a generic story. He could be anyone really, because it\u2019s happening all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Roll said she could recall at least 10 suicides in the last year, including a friend of her son.<\/p>\n
Terrified mum\u2019s battle to find son help<\/p>\n
Celina Reynolds is yet another local mother who has been forced to jump through countless loopholes in order to receive critical care for her son.<\/p>\n
Ms Reynolds came home one night to find her son cutting chunks of his hair off, leaping across the couch and spitting on the floors.<\/p>\n
Terrified, she barricaded herself in her bedroom and called the mental health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me to go for a walk,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Instead, Ms Reynolds drove her son to Warnambool hospital, where he began presenting with psychosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took six hours and they didn\u2019t speak to me about any of the processes. I was beside myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After endless appointments and waiting, Ms Reynolds was told her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
Ms Reynolds believes the small mental health team at Portland Hospital is strong, but \u201cthere\u2019s only so much they can do\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not enough of these facilities. Psychiatrist reviews only come monthly and you have to wait weeks before something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, Ms Reynolds pointed to a stigmitsiation of mental health in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of their behaviours, they\u2019re stigmatised, and it\u2019s not a very forgiving community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve done something that stands out as not normal, it sticks to you here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, Portland mother Nicola Dutton has become a full-time carer for her child due to a severe lack of wider health resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot having any psychiatric services with inpatient capacity puts a huge burden on the patient and the carers that help support them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverywhere has its own niches, but there\u2019s no holistic care for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Dutton said the town is essentially just \u201cwaiting for its next suicide\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are crying out that they haven\u2019t got support, they should be receiving the care they need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is saving billions by relying on carers to prop everything up and to navigate the mental health system, it\u2019s very exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Dutton left her job to support her child, and worries every day might be their last.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system has created a massive burden on our communities. We don\u2019t have the staff, the resources and psychiatrists,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not someone who thinks anyone owes me anything, we are just trying to do the best with what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ms Spry has witnessed first-hand how families, friends and communities grieve after losing a local to suicide.<\/p>\n
\u201cLoved ones usually say, \u2018I knew they were struggling, but I didn\u2019t think they\u2019d do this\u2019, or \u2018they had promised me they wouldn\u2019t do this\u2019, or \u2018I should have called them when I had a bad feeling about them doing this\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think sometimes people are worried about saying the wrong thing, so they don\u2019t say anything at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, stigma \u2013 particularly in rural regions \u2013 continues to be a large barrier to seeking help, Ms Spry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s stigma everywhere, but mental health is more openly accepted in cities and spoken about in cities,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving lived in the city and lived in the country, I would say traditional gender biases are really firm here still. And it was a shock to me when I came back to find that was the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen and men are both at a disadvantage because of that, and they don\u2019t realise it.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to The Hospital Research Foundation Group, gender imbalance creates societal pressure for men, subsequently leading to higher rates of untreated anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the town has just a handful of psychologists and counselling services, with demand so high that patients can face lengthy wait times.<\/p>\n
Patients are often forced to turn to telehealth appointments.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of it is telehealth, but nothing beats face-to-face,\u201d said Ms Spry.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen in town are much more inclined to talk when having a beer or even a cup of tea. They\u2019re not going to log onto the Zoom call and spill their hearts out. They\u2019d probably think that was bullsh*t. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is also a fear of what people will think if they\u2019re seen going into the [psychologist\u2019s] office. In theory, the appointments are supposed to be confidential, but what happens if they\u2019re not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Call for action<\/p>\n
Following a devastating spate of suicides in the town, locals decided they had had enough.<\/p>\n
A handful of residents devised a plan to fight back against suicide by aiming to train 1500 locals in suicide prevention first aid by 2029.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Portland Rotary formed the Rotary Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Committee, with the aim of increasing the confidence of community members to support friends, work colleagues and family members with thoughts of suicide.<\/p>\n
Peter Taylor, the chair of the committee, lost his nephew to suicide in 2023.<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor, alongside committee members Lynda Smith, Tony South and Rotary president Frank Farnsworth, has trained 181 locals and delivered eight workshops across the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter didn\u2019t want anybody to be in the same situation that he had been in. He believed that if he had said something to his nephew, it might have put the idea in his mind,\u201d Ms Smith said.<\/p>\n
After attending suicide prevention training in Ballarat, Mr Taylor devised the plan to introduce a similar initiative in Portland.<\/p>\n
Within months of attending the workshop, Mr Taylor crowd-funded to hold the first suicide prevention workshop in Portland, and in the nearby town of Haywood.<\/p>\n
Both workshops were sold out in days, and a waiting list formed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about not being afraid to say \u2018hey, are you having thoughts of suicide?\u2019\u201d Mr South said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about using the correct terms and then showing them the pathway to further help and services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Initially, it cost more than $5000 to train 30 individuals, a cost that was not eligible for government funding support.<\/p>\n
After raising $22,000 in just 12 minutes via community donations and grants, the committee was able to send four people away to be trained as instructors, reducing the cost to just $1000 per session.<\/p>\n
\u201cRural communities are very good at working together for something they know is a need in their own community,\u201d Ms Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe further away from a capital city or a regional city you are, the more funds you should be able to receive, but it doesn\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee said the biggest drawcard was the accessibility of the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnline options are a great option, but sometimes, especially when it comes to mental health, you need to see people face-to-face,\u201d Mr South said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got rural farmers who won\u2019t come off the land because their lands are so important. You need to have the ability to take people to the program and not expect them to come in. <\/p>\n
\u201cMaking people travel hours away to access a service that they\u2019re already a bit hesitant to access is next to impossible, so bringing that to them removes so many barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life-changing program<\/p>\n
Live4Life chief executive Jeremy Wiggins knows all too well the devastating impact suicide can have in regional communities.<\/p>\n
Live4Life is a youth mental health education and suicide prevention model designed for rural and regional communities, led by young people.<\/p>\n
The initiative was born in 2010 in the Macedon Ranges following the suicides of two young boys over a single weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw this program as an opportunity to reach young people,\u201d Mr Wiggins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLive4Life is helping build mental health language and practical knowledge, greater confidence for young people to notice concerns and support others, reducing stigma, and building connection between services, schools and trusted adults.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program operates in 14 rural communities across Victoria and Tasmania and integrates into schools, including teachers, students, police officers, local government, community members and mental health professionals.<\/p>\n
So far, the program has yielded lifesaving results, and has taken home multiple awards for its work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program pays for itself,\u201d Mr Wiggins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reduces the burden on clinical services and costs associated with mental health services.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunities don\u2019t want fly in fly out (FIFO) services, they want it to be embedded by people they trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t want a big national service, because their needs are completely different. They know where things should be and they need to lean into the people they know. That\u2019s how they feel safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, young people don\u2019t have to suffer the pain of living through crisis.<\/p>\n
Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride told news.com.au the Labor government had delivered $1.1 billion to strengthen mental health care.<\/p>\n
\u201cA key pillar to strengthening our country\u2019s mental health system is expanding our network of Medicare Mental Health Centres to 92 locations nationwide, with a particular focus on regional communities and areas of need,\u201d Ms McBride said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese centres provide free mental health support, with no referral, appointment or eligibility criteria required.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for residents of Portland, the closest Medicare Mental Health Centre is in across the border in South Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know there is more work to do, particularly for rural and remote communities, which is why we will continue investing in practical measures that improve access to care, reduce barriers to support and ensure Australians can access mental health services when and where they need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stories of Portland are the third in a series of articles for a news.com.au investigation into Australia\u2019s mental health crisis. Over the coming days, the stories, deaths and experiences of fellow Australians will be shared in an effort to encourage reform in the mental health sector.<\/p>\n
Have a story? Email me at ella.mcilveen@news.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Susan Roll will never forget the moment her son called her and declared he was either \u201cgoing 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