THE findings of a two-year consultation with First Nations members were discussed by social welfare services, recently.

Representatives from local disability, mental health, education, child protection, family violence and early childhood services met in Ipswich last week in conjunction with Elders to discuss the findings.

The consultation was led by community health services organisation EACH, through First Nations program, Wantima.

Wantima staff spoke with more than 1,000 people in West Moreton, Darling Downs and South Burnett regions, to understand their health and well-being concerns and challenges, and services they would like to have in place.

Mental health was the leading issue in 96 percent of front door conversations.

Suicide and youth well-being were a chief cause of concern with many people having lost friends or relatives to suicide.

EACH’s Acting Head of First Nations Capability and Engagement, Yuggera woman Murryann Reeves said the consultation was unique as it asked about the kind of solutions needed and how to enable these.

“If we want to support better outcomes for community and Close the Gap – in health, in justice, in everything – we need to understand their experiences and the barriers and enablers to using services,” she said.

“We’re grateful to those who shared their insights with us, and the next step for us is to consider how we can honour the voice of over 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members in creating programs that address the barriers to equity of First Nations People.”

EACH is a national community-based health and social services organisation, with services operating from Ipswich.