A Victorian coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal artist has been told it took emergency services more than an hour and a half to respond after triple-0 was called for help.
NOTE: This story uses Nish's name and image with the permission of her family.
Jingili woman Narisha "Nish" Cash died at her home in Sunshine West on March 26, 2020 after calling triple-0 in a highly distressed state, saying she was going to end her life.
The inquest was told police arrived at the property one hour and 40 minutes after the original call, finding Ms Cash unresponsive.
Paramedics, who arrived a short time later, were unable to revive the 41-year-old, who was later confirmed to have died due to drug toxicity.
On the first day of the three-day hearings, counsel assisting the inquest Lindsay Spence described Ms Cash as a proud Aboriginal woman and renowned graffiti artist who had struggled in the past with alcohol and mental health issues.
He said friends and family reported she had been happy in the weeks leading up to her death and was about to begin a new job.
However, the court was told a housemate had reported Ms Cash had recently been struggling, after a coworker had taken their life.
The inquest was told that on the night of her death, Ms Cash was alone at home and was told by a triple-0 operator that police would be on their way to her home soon.
Former Victoria Police constable Amber Jenkins told the inquest an ESTA operator called her, requesting police call Ms Cash and conduct a welfare check.
Ms Jenkins said Ms Cash told her over the phone that she had taken an overdose of prescription medication, but when she suggested sending an ambulance, Ms Cash became more distressed and hung up the phone after repeating, "they won't help".
Assessing the situation as severe, Ms Jenkins called ESTA police dispatchers immediately, telling them Ms Cash didn't want an ambulance and police would need to attend.
"She was obviously not in a good way and needed to get some help," Ms Jenkins said.
A separate ambulance request was not made at that time, Ms Jenkins said, as she believed the information she gave would trigger an automatic multi-agency response, including ambulance.
However, that didn't happen, the inquest heard. Instead, a police unit was assigned to attend the Sunshine West home but was delayed with another job.
One of the assigned officers, Constable Joshua Berney, told the inquest his unit had been "tied up" attending a hit-and-run crash nearby.
He told the court he advised police dispatchers about the delay, but didn't tell them they would be unable to attend.
The court was told neither police officers had received training about how to respond to suicide situations.
A separate police investigation into Ms Cash's death is currently underway.
Heartbroken family seeks answers
Ms Cash's brother Matthew Cash, present in the court on Monday along with other family members, said the family wants to know why it took so long for emergency services to get to his sister.
"If she got the help she needed on time, she would probably still be here… I hope the coronial inquest will lead to change so that no-one else loses a loved one because emergency services couldn't respond in time," Mr Cash said in a written statement.
Many people were grieving his sister, Mr Cash said, and although she had her challenges, no matter how hard things got, she was always there to support those around her.
"No matter how hard things were for her, she was always giving what she could to support those around her… Nish was the one that kept us all together," he said.
He also paid tribute to his sister's artistic legacy, in particular the way she inspired other Aboriginal people to tell their story through art.
"Nish particularly enjoyed teaching art to young people. She taught so many people a better way to express their individuality and circumstances," he said.
"To this day you will still see in a lot of major cities and some small towns, murals of artwork that Nish has created."
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), which is representing Ms Cash's family, says Ms Cash's family deserves answers about what went wrong.
"Nish's family deserve to know what went wrong and we will try and ensure they get those answers," VALS chief executive Nerita Waight said in a statement.
"Too often, when Aboriginal people ask for help, they don't get it. It's part of the systemic racism we face every day."
"No Victorian should die waiting for police or ambulance to arrive."
