Dja Dja Wurrung man Stan Dryden knows the lasting impact of suicide on Aboriginal families and communities all too well.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of a person who has died.
He has lost several family members, including his wife, Soufia, who died by suicide in December 1999.
"She took her life at the age of 33, and a lot of that goes back to my choices earlier for drinking alcohol," Mr Dryden said.
"I was clean and sober for six years, and then she made a decision to take her life. That absolutely ruined us as a family."
He said her death has had a lifelong impact, and their children bore the brunt of the trauma that comes from losing a loved one to suicide.
"My son, he chose to pick up drugs from that point, because of the trauma that he experienced with his mother," Mr Dryden said.
"Then my daughter, she was a bit messed up as well. You know, she was 17 or 18, and then she left me and went back to Shepparton."
Mr Dryden credits his connection with culture and country with pulling him through the dark times in his life, including his battle with alcoholism.
He thinks the current approaches to tackling suicide in Aboriginal communities are not doing enough to promote connection with culture.
The latest statistics from the Victorian Coroner show that since results of the Mental Health Royal Commission were published in 2021, there has been a 75 per cent increase in Indigenous suicides, with young people, men, and those in regional communities most at risk.
"It's our community, we've got to do it ourselves. The government and the police and all that other stuff that's out there is not working.
"So now that we know that doesn't work, we've got to go back, take some responsibility.
"We've got to get back to the basics of our Aboriginal culture, which is the number one thing."
Experts say tackling suicide means tackling poverty
The Victorian Coroner found the stressors that led to suicide were complex and included substance abuse, insecure housing, and contact with police and the justice system close to the time of death.
Gerry Georgatos has spent more than a decade coordinating the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, and he said poverty was overwhelmingly the root cause of suicide for Indigenous people.
"What takes your life above the poverty line is 20, 30, 40 times more likely to take your life below the poverty line, and that number is even higher for First Nations people," he said.
"In the end, poverty alleviation is the major driver, in fact, that will reduce suicides, and we can dramatically reduce them with significant poverty alleviation."
National data shows around 40 per cent of Indigenous Australians fall into the bottom 20 per cent of income distribution, and the weekly average income for Indigenous households has decreased by almost 5 per cent since 2015.
Over the same time period, Indigenous suicides have been increasing, with one in 17 deaths now attributed to suicide.
Mr Georgatos said governments had the power to fix the problem, but money was not being spent where it is was needed.
He said the "lack of political will" was the main problem.
"I've been working with Commonwealth and state and territory governments for a decade and a half," Mr Georgatos said.
"We spend on research and consultations and trials. That's all well and good.
"We've got to spend much more in terms of principles of proportionality on investments in suicide prevention on the ground.
"That's just not happening. It's endless research. It's disproportionate to the funding that hits the ground."
The mental health system has been put under record levels of demand in recent years and the Victorian government's 10 year plan to overhaul it is only in the early stages.
The plan will involve increasing the number of Indigenous people in the mental health workforce, building culturally safe healing centres, but the projects are long-term so communities will have to wait years to see the benefits.
Culturally sensitive support for young people crucial
Early access to Aboriginal-run mental health services has proven to be one way to tackle high suicide rates.
In Geelong, Strong Brother Strong Sister works predominantly with teenagers and young people up to the age of 25, an age group that is considered high risk when it comes to suicide.
Yorta Yorta woman Ruby Evans has seen success with the program, which combines clinical services with her work as a culturally safe mentor.
"There's a huge waiting, huge waiting list for psychology support. So having this space there as safe place for young people to come in and they can see us for the cultural support is important."
Ms Evans thinks raising the self-esteem of young Aboriginal people goes hand-in-hand with reducing the rates of suicide.
"A lot of young people that are in contact with the justice system, they've grown up and had a really tough life," she said.
"They've had teachers, or police, or leaders in their area, tell them that they're not going to succeed in their life. Police have told them: 'I'll see you in a few years, because you're going to be in jail.'
"That is instilled in them from a young age and I think that's really damaging for their self esteem."
Strong Brother Strong Sister is focused on grassroots work within the Geelong community, a model that Ms Evans believes is more successful than big banner organisations.
"It's more intimate so you can work with the young people and with the community because each state and community is completely different," she said.
"Having a smaller setting, and rather than the national works a lot more, because you're on the frontline and you know all the people.
"We're all big family in this community."
