First Nations mental health, education and employment
The Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health
According to Government statistics, First Nations Australians die by suicide at a rate twice higher than the non-First Nations Australians. It breaks our hearts that First Nations children are the highest risk group. 75% of child suicides between 2007 and 2011 were First Nations children.
To address this desperate need, the Pauline E. McLeod Foundation is currently funding seven psychology scholarships for First Nations students through the Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health.
These scholarships help with study, living and transport costs, affording vital financial assistance to students who are studying an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
By eliminating the very real financial barrier to study, these scholarships help to facilitate the training of more First Nations psychologists skilled in Indigenous specific mental health, suicide prevention and intervention programs, ultimately taking their experience back to the most disadvantaged, high-risk communities to facilitate real change.
When it comes to these psychology students, we are not just investing in the development of one individual, we are investing in the high-risk communities to which these students will return once they graduate, making a real difference to the many lives they will influence – not just their future patients, but their patient’s children, brothers, sisters, parents, aunties and uncles. And that continues for a lifetime.
The Clontarf Foundation
In 2018, the employment rate of First Nations Peoples was around 49%. The same figure for non-Indigenous Australians is around 75%. That’s a big difference! Employment is important for many reasons. It not only provides direct benefits to individual and families, is associated with better physical and mental health but also sets up future generations to succeed.
Educating, sharing knowledge and supporting young people was very important to Pauline from Play School. That’s why the Foundation named in her honour has chosen to partner with the Clontarf Foundation – to do something about First Nations boys who disengage from education at a faster rate than any other demographic within Australia. The Pauline E. McLeod Foundation is currently covering the costs associated with five boys attending the Dunheved Clontarf Academy, based at the Dunheved Campus of Chifley College (Mt Druitt, NSW), along with five boys attending the Belmont Clontarf Academy, near Perth Airport.
The Clontarf Foundation exists to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young First Nations men, and by doing so, equips them with the foundation to transition into meaningful employment and achieve better life outcomes.
Using the existing passion these boys have for sport allows Clontarf to encourage them to attend school, and then keep them coming. The Foundation partners with schools and communities to create Clontarf Academies which are embedded within the school grounds and education program.
