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1995; Vicary and Westerman 2004). Other researchers have disputed the purportedrelationship between mental illness and Aboriginal suicide (Tatz 1999; Reser 1991,cited in Elliott-Farrelly 2004).Environmental, sociocultural and economic risk factors have also been associatedwith a higher rate of suicide. Relevant family factors may include having parentswho are substance dependent, have been imprisoned, or have violent tendencies,particularly if this translates into family violence.Unemployment and poor long-term job prospects are considered risk factors forsuicide, particularly in the regional and remote areas where a substantial proportion(70 per cent) of Indigenous people live (appendix 3, table A.6). Section 3.5 presentsdata showing the higher unemployment rates and lower labour force participationrates of Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous people.Box 3.8.2‘Things that work’ — Yarrabah Family Life Promotion programFollowing three suicide clusters between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, the Yarrabahcommunity in Queensland developed a set of strategies for suicide prevention,intervention, aftercare and life promotion. The Yarrabah Family Life Promotionprogram, established in 1995, has been facilitated by the locally-controlled CommunityCouncil and Primary Health Care service, and external resources engaged by thecommunity.Life promotion strategies, which primarily sought to mitigate community risk factors,included:• training community members in crisis intervention and counselling• a crisis centre and crisis line• one-on-one grief and loss counselling, and family and men’s support groups• information for suicide survivors, families of suicide victims, and people who selfharm• workshops on parenting and relationships• promotion of sport, recreation and cultural activities• development of networks across family and clan groups.Other measures complementing the Family Life Promotion program included initiativesaddressing alcohol misuse, especially as a cause of self-harm.Between 2000 and 2004, there were three suicide deaths in Yarrabah, compared to 12from 1992 to 1996 and none from 1997 to 1999 (Queensland Health, unpublished).Incidents of self-harm have also reportedly fallen, as have hospital presentations foraccidental trauma and police interventions for alcohol-related problems.(Continued next page)74 OVERCOMINGINDIGENOUSDISADVANTAGE 2007