Transcript
By the time he reached his mid-twenties, Niuean-Cook Islander Jay Williams had lost several people in his life to suicide.
First a close friend's younger brother then two of his best friends, finally a relative who he had considered as a father figure, took his own life after murdering another family member.
Then years later, after separating from his partner, Mr Williams became suicidal himself.
"You're dealing with regret and you're dealing with guilt and you're dealing with blame and I could smell death, you know. And I used to drugs to mask my pain at the time."
Three national surveys taken in high schools over the last seven years by the Adolescent Health and Research Group revealed Pasifika youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide than European youth. https://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/assets/fmhs/faculty/ahrg/docs/youth'12%20pacific%20report.pdf
A recent University of Auckland study by Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath showed that Pacific suicides were about double those of all other New Zealanders in the worst deprivation bracket. https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/read-the-journal/all-issues/2010-2019/2017/vol-130-no-1454-28-april-2017/7224
While the country's Suicide Prevention Action Plan over the last three years included a focus around finding out what actually works for Maori and Pasifika, Mr Williams believes the government has failed to address their needs and the mental health sector is lacking in cultural competency. http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/new-zealand-suicide-prevention-action-plan-2013-2016
He says suicide and depression are taboo subjects in Pasifika families making it difficult for many people to ask for help.
"How do you keep yourself well? And is it ok to talk about when things don't go well? And I had no examples, there were no stories or no narratives that I could grasp onto."
Denise Kingi-'Ulu'ave is the senior manager of suicide prevention for Pasifika mental health service Le Va and she agrees.
"I think sometimes we can be really good at masking our distress. And if you look back in generations, you can see that sometimes we haven't been able to allow young people to express their emotions."
A study done by Te Rau Hinengaro found that Pacific people who migrated to New Zealand after the age of 18 were less likely to experience mental health issues.
Ms Kingi-'Ulu'ave says developing coping strategies to help young vulnerable Pasifika in New Zealand are important.
"There's something really protective that we have back in the islands that we struggle with here in New Zealand. We've developed five top tactics that we see are really protective and that is: our culture, talking about issues that cause stress and distress, our strong families, but also spirituality and spirituality we know is a really protective factor and so we need to acknowledge that and we need to build on that."
Jay Williams says issues such as the housing crisis in New Zealand, low-incomes and poverty-related diseases are continuing to have adverse affects on Pasifika mental health and well-being.
This is Indira Stewart.
