Mental health practitioners and community leaders are urging the Northern Territory government to invest in more culturally appropriate services for minority groups living in regional communities. Saying the sector is facing a lack of funding which is impacting services and putting peoples lives at risk.
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00:00A few years ago, Lazarus Mamburu's life spiraled out of control after the death of his mother
00:10and then his sister.
00:12Experiencing that, it was a really tough time for me.
00:15He searched for mental health assistance in his hometown of Katherine, but he found there
00:20was a lack of cultural awareness and most services were dedicated towards indigenous
00:26women.
00:29So he started his own informal, culturally appropriate service for men dealing with depression,
00:36anxiety and grief.
00:38Working now, you know, along with the fellows talking about issues in the community, that
00:44was very helpful for me.
00:46Even though community-led programs like this are proving to be successful in towns like
00:50Katherine, experts are still worried there's still a lack of culturally appropriate services
00:56for minority groups in the regions.
00:59Mental health in the territory is only treated when it's at an extreme and often it's too
01:05late and there is no support really for preventative mental health care.
01:12Some in the sector believe there needs to be a better understanding of the social issues
01:17impacting culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
01:22There is no recognition for multicultural population in mental health.
01:27Migrant community leaders who organize their own mental health football tournament want
01:33the new government to step on the field and do more outreach.
01:37There should be a campaign from the government to reach out to them through their community
01:42leaders and through other different community organizations.
01:46And with that, the mental health disparities culturally diverse communities experience
01:51were closed, allowing people feeling isolated to be heard.