Aboriginal people in Australia take their lives at rates that are twice that of non-Aboriginal people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Although there is a National Strategy for the prevention of Aboriginal suicide (Australian Government, 2013), there is currently little evidence on effective suicide prevention strategies (Ridani et al., 2015>). This is probably due to several reasons. For instance, Aboriginal suicidology is considered different from that of suicidology of mainstream populations (Elliott-Farrelly, 2004) and hence requires a unique approach. Factors associated with Aboriginal suicide are remarkably complex and almost always include intergenerational trauma, grief and loss (Australian Government, 2013) as well as obstacles to seeking help (Isaacs, Sutton, Hearn, Wanganeen, & Dudgeon, 2016). Furthermore, factors that may promote social and emotional well-being such as social connectedness and strengthening family bonds (Hunter & Milroy, 2006; Tsey, Patterson, Whiteside, Baird, & Baird, 2002) require a whole of community effort with substantial support from mainstream stakeholders.
This special issue was proposed to showcase small but significant community models that were developed to address the problem of Aboriginal suicide in Australia that have the potential to make a difference to the current suicide prevention landscape. Nonetheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that for any meaningful change to occur, mainstream services and Aboriginal communities need to ‘work together’ (Dudgeon, Milroy, & Walker, 2014; Sheldon, 2001). Currently there is some way to go before this can be achieved.