Claire Achmad: Children's Commissioner on the Coroner's report into the self-inflicted deaths of six Northland youths

Schools and kura could have an important role to play in preventing youth suicide.  

Coroner Tania Tetitaha's inquiry into the self-inflicted deaths of six young people finds they were effectively lost in a fragmented system.  

Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad says we need to make sure getting help is as easy as possible at the earliest stages of distress.  

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan school-based services like counselling and social workers provide a lot of benefits.

Achmad says their presence makes them more accessible and more trusted by children and young people. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The coroner has released findings into the tragic deaths of
six young people in Northland. Now all six died and
what's been described as a suicide cluster. They didn't know
each other, but they shared common threads of bullying, abuse
and loneliness. And what's striking in this is the number
of agencies that these kids deal with in their lives.
One was in contact with seventeen. Doctor Clayarkmede is the
Children's Commissioner and is with us Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Claire, Good morning, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
I mean that seems like an obvious problem, right that
they have a huge number of agencies and no one
appears to be the lead agency.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, first of all, this morning, Heather, I really want
to acknowledge how sensitive this topic of you suicide is
and the profound and deeply devastating impact that suicide has
on pharo on families, on communities, on friends, and you
know this inquiry that we're talking about this morning, inga

(00:52):
adlham more technical more mourning Taikamriiki that is the name
of the joint inquiry that Corona Petia has given that
translates to tears of love for children and use loss
to suicide and so First of all, I just really
do want to acknowledge the families and the founder of
these type companies you raise there with me about the

(01:18):
range of agencies that we're involved with these young people
before their deaths. And from my perspective, what that really
highlights is that there are systemic issues that need real focused,
ongoing attention around this issue of suicide. And it's both
across the mental health system. But also what this joint

(01:41):
and inquiring highlights to me is that we've got to
get better joined up across the wider systems that children
and young people engage with. And I'm talking about our
education system and our care and protection system. These systems
has got to be working better together. Actually put children
at the viewers center.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
It's the place to pump the resources into, not the schools,
because I mean, you know, for the most part, most kids,
if there's one thing that you can guarantee one agency
you're going to get, or one outfit you'll guarantee they'll
have contact with, it's a school. So if we put
the resources into the schools, if these guys are seeing
them every day, surely they should be the ones or
could be the ones that could could intervene.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
What do you think A really pleased that you raise
the role of schools and could have because I have
seen the value of school based health services for children
and young people in communities around our country. And why
I really want to see more focus and more investment

(02:41):
into school based health services that are holistic, that provide counseling,
school nurses, social workers is because if we make those
holistic support services available to children and young people in
the places where they are, like their schools than could have,
that makes them more accessible. They're hopefully going to be

(03:04):
more trusted by children and young people because they just
are present in the places where they are. And also
we have to make getting help as easy as possible
for our children and young people at the earliest stages
when they might be starting to experience mental districts. And

(03:25):
from what I have heard from children and young people
and communities around New Ziance is that when there are
holistic school based health services and their schools and could
those are some of the things that really do help.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Clay, thanks very much for your time. That is doctor Claikmund,
the Children's Commissioner.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
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