Hear from mental health peer work team leader Chloe Hawthorne on why early, affirming support is suicide prevention in LGBTQ+ communities.
Chloe Hawthorne (she/her) leads Mental Health Peer Work Services at ACON, supporting people of diverse sexualities and genders and people living with HIV experiencing mental health challenges and suicidal distress.
For some trans and gender diverse people in particular, peer support may be the first time they have spoken with someone who can relate to their experiences, especially in regional and rural areas.
“There can be this added layer of trust that exists before you even walk into the room,” she says. That sense of safety can make the important conversations possible. This is crucial in the space of suicide prevention, where pressures facing LGBTQ+ communities are often cumulative.
“We don’t really relate to this one-time crisis model of suicide prevention because it’s this constant tension, this constant fight and pain that builds over time,” she explains.
“It’s much, much easier to reach people in the preventative space than it is to respond once they’re already in a crisis.”
Support that sees the whole person
Chloe’s belief in the value of affirming care comes from her own experience of mental health challenges and suicide from an early age, years of supporting others through similar experiences, and seeking care as an LGBTQ+ person.
“ACON was one of the first places that I didn’t feel like I had to leave parts of my identity behind to get support,” she says.
Access, however, depends on services having enough capacity to respond when people reach out. “Having to wait months is not ideal. If you’re reaching out, you need support now,” she says.
When that support is available, Chloe sees what it can make possible.
“So much changes for our communities when they have access to that community-based mental health support,” she urges.
Chloe’s call for change
People of diverse sexualities and genders are already building the kind of care their communities need to thrive. Chloe’s message is that governments must match that effort with investment.
“Words matter, but if it’s not followed with affirmative action then it means very little. Invest in us, resource us, resource our communities to continue supporting us to thrive. Give us power, give us influence and protect us in policy.”
For Chloe, the clearest sign of underinvestment is who is still being missed.
“I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m one of the ones that made it. There are so many of us that aren’t making it… because we don’t have what we need to do the work,” she says.
Chloe’s story is one of the voices behind our call to put community-based mental health care first. Read more about our Care Beyond Crisis 2027 NSW State Election campaign.
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