From Advocacy to Action: Neeka’s Path to Systemic Change in Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
This article contains content about suicide prevention. If life is in immediate danger, please call 000 immediately. If you’re feeling distressed but not in immediate danger, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 for free and confidential support.
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While working in the mental health space, alumni Neeka Zand was seeking to learn best practice from sector leaders and that’s why she enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact at The University of Western Australia. Neeka aspired to apply her newly found tools and concepts with confidence to make a lasting impact in the communities she was working in.
As World Suicide Prevention Day was recently observed globally, The Centre for Social Impact team asked Neeka to share some reflections on her professional journey in mental health and suicide prevention.
Working towards systemic change
How and why did you decide to pursue a career in the social impact space?
I never really knew this was a space until I was deep in it! I think my family is still a bit confused by the work I do. I started off in the humanitarian volunteering and advocacy space for a few years not thinking it would lead to anything. But I realised to truly help the community, I needed to have greater say on our systems design. There was a particular moment in my volunteering where I was running a soccer match for kids of recently arrived asylum seekers parents, and at the end of the game one five-year-old kid would not let go of my leg. I cried for nearly a day, knowing that even if I became a psychologist to support children of these backgrounds, I could never truly help if they can't even access basic needs.
What needed to change was the policies that wouldn't allow his family to access jobs or Medicare, let alone the structural and social racism he will inevitably endure - I needed to get into systemic advocacy work.
You have recently changed jobs, can you tell us about your current role? Why is this work important to you?
After 3 years as Suicide Prevention Coordinator, and over 7 years working in the Perth Mental Health NGO sector I felt I had given all I couldto the space and I was keen to see how I could benefit the public sector directly.
I have recently started a role at the WA Child Adolescent Health Service (CAMHS) as a Coordinator of Consumer Engagement with a focus on Multicultural and Mental Health. As an only child of two Iranian political refugees, I have always ensured the involvement of the unheard voices of the multicultural community in all my projects. I have often been the only person from a multicultural background in planning and decision making rooms and have held a greater responsibility to hold agencies accountable in their involvement of CaLD populations. I'm excited to have been given an opportunity to now work directly with CAMHS, which is such a vital service for our youth population in WA.
Practical learning for social impact
Why did you decide to enrol in postgraduate study and what have you enjoyed most about the course?
After already completing a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Psychology, I was very intentional about ensuring any further studies would directly influence the quality of my work and job prospects.
I felt that not only the practical industry learnings, but also the guest lecturers and classmates really allowed me to have a greater network and knowledge in this competitive industry.
I was constantly in awe of the incredible people I met and hearing about their work, learnings and visions.
How do you think it's helped in your current role?
Initiatives like RightByYou would have never happened if it wasn't for the people I met and the concepts I explored in the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact at CSI UWA. I was lucky to be able to focus some of my assignments specifically on areas of concern in my work in Suicide Prevention at the time, as well as bounce off thoughts with fellow classmates. It was great to prioritise time to be informed of leading and emerging research and tools in the industry I am working in.
Empowering communities for lasting change
What are some of the biggest professional learnings over the past years?
- Be solution-focused, truly understand the roots of a concern and be purposeful, persistent, and patient
- Lead with evidence from (1) the system, (2) literature and (3) the consumer
- Have a mentor (or two) that has been through similar challenges that you may face
- If the consumers involved don’t like it, it won’t work. Make it work for them
Biggest career highlight?
Whenever I hear from community members that an initiative I’ve led helped them at a crucial time (especially when they don’t even know I was involved) – it makes all the extra work and fight absolutely worth it. That’s the best energy booster because it can definitely get draining behind the scenes at times.
Often my work highlights are the relationships with the young advocates, and watching them strengthen their voices and turn their experiences into something super meaningful, those relationships mean the world to me as I still remember how important it was for me to have those who supported me in the beginning.
Being nominated by one of these advocates and then winning last year's WA Young Achiever Super Spirit Community Award was probably the cherry on top!
The key changes needed in suicide prevention
You were previously working in the suicide prevention space, what would be the main change needed to protect more lives?
Evidence has continuously shown that the more informed the community is about the warning signs and how to respond, the safer our community is. This is why the suicide prevention space is always pushing for tools and training to be accessible and relevant for community. Someone experiencing ideation may feel like they’re in a dark tunnel with no other option, it often takes others to be able support them in this time, to help them feel hope.
However, there are many service improvements required, from early intervention support not being accessible, to the long waitlists across the sector.
But if I could wave a magic wand for one immediate change, it would be to provide a better option than the Emergency Department (ED) for those experiencing suicidal crisis or attempt.
This is the only choice given and is often explained by lived experience as one of the most traumatic parts of their experience, as the ED is not really equipped to handle mental health concerns - yet is still the best and safest current option.
What do you wish more people knew about these important issues?
Suicide prevention is everyone's issue - it doesn’t discriminate and can impact anyone's life.
The most important myth to bust is that asking someone if they are considering hurting themselves, or planning suicide, is 'going to give them the idea'. It is not going to give them the idea, if anything it may be the only opportunity for someone to admit that they are.
This question alone can save lives, don’t be scared to ask, it’ll only give you an opportunity to help before it’s too late.
What would you advise to someone who is worried about their friend/family member?
If someone is “attention seeking”, then give them attention! The journey of recovery may feel impossible in their lowest moments, but it is important you let them know you are there, you love them, and you want to help them. Give them a safe opportunity to share how they're feeling, ask them the hard questions and find out where they're at (including asking if they have any plans to hurt themselves including when and where), ask them how they would most like you to help, and organise a time to catch up again to see how it's all going and if they need any more support. Don't be scared of them or treat them differently, they're still your friend/family member.
I would recommend visiting www.rightbyyou.org.au for more information, even if you're not worried about a friend right now, you never know when you need to know!
Every individual effort counts
What drives you to want to make a difference?
Pure frustration guided by purpose. If I can tell myself that someone else will fix it, why shouldn't someone else just think the same? In Australia, there is no excuse for anyone to feel hopeless and unable to get good care. As individuals, we have a responsibility within our community to play a part for better outcomes for all.
I know sometimes people feel discouraged because the change that is needed feels huge, and or they feel someone else is better positioned to act, but every individual effort is what leads to change. Leave the world a better place than you found it, just like those who did before us.
How do you manage study and work?
Being well organised with my timelines and making sure that if something important is on for either one, I coordinate it well beforehand. At the beginning of each unit, find out all the important dates and schedule in study and final draft completion times. Also coffees and pre-packed snacks… it’s never good to be hungry.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love to cook for friends and family, I find it a great opportunity to be creative and innovative, and reap a delish (hopefully) reward to share at the end!
