![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9e5ee44ce9d92231e3edef81090c822a65c3a59574d029dc1c30795edd0f6b8.png\")
Save<\/p>\nSave<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Warning: Graphic content<\/p>\n When Carly Richardson\u2019s mental health hit a crisis point, she tried to seek help. She asked her community mental health team for more intensive therapy, but was told the resources weren\u2019t available. She was then sent to hospital after she self-harmed, but was discharged after little more than a week, despite telling staff what she was planning.<\/p>\n Before she\u2019d arrived home, she attempted to end her own life.<\/p>\n \u201cI was on the train tracks,\u201d the now 21-year-old said of the incident 18 months ago. In a state of distress, she said police pulled her away and bent back her wrists to move her forward, with a level of pressure that left bruises.<\/p>\n \u201cI was crying from the pain and they didn\u2019t seem at all fazed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was really triggering because I\u2019d been trying to tell myself that the world is a safe place, but it\u2019s so weird when you\u2019re met with responses like that when you\u2019re suffering.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like a criminal just for being unwell. It was really dehumanising. I didn\u2019t feel like a person anymore \u2013 I just felt like an animal.\u201d<\/p>\n Richardson\u2019s story is not in isolation. Last week, 21 prominent mental health and justice organisations released a joint statement calling for systemwide reform, including the implementation of a health-led response to mental health emergencies, with police deployed only when the safety of health workers is at risk. This change is supported by a major 2024 inquiry,<\/a> cross-bench agreement and the NSW Police.<\/p>\n \u201cMental crises aren\u2019t a crime,\u201d said BEING Mental Health Consumers chief executive Giancarlo de Vera, who led the statement.<\/p>\n De Vera pointed to the 52 people in mental health crisis who were killed by police in the five years to 2023, and the variable risk of police escalating a situation, rather than providing support.<\/p>\n Related Article When a motion on the subject was raised in NSW parliament last Wednesday, Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said reform around police first responders remained a \u201ckey priority\u201d for the government, but she acknowledged it was \u201ctaking time\u201d. In a statement, she said consultations were still ongoing \u201cand we will have more to say soon\u201d.<\/p>\n De Vera said the government had \u201cwasted their term\u201d with talk and sentiments: \u201cYou can pave the road with good intentions, but until we see action, nothing\u2019s going to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n Mental health measures announced in the NSW budget did not truly represent a new funding boost, de Vera said, with $108 million of the $112 million promised a re-announcement of previous commitments.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Key to the joint statement \u2013 which was also signed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the college of psychiatrists, law organisations and People with Disability Australia \u2013 was a request for the public release of a government-commissioned gap analysis report, which is expected to highlight the funding and staffing gap in each local health district, to allow for better resourcing.<\/p>\n Jackson denied the report was being withheld and said that initial research had been released in collaboration with the Mental Health Alliance over an extended period: \u201cIt\u2019s not fair to characterise it as though there\u2019s a document sitting there that hasn\u2019t been released,\u201d as the approval process to make the data publicly available was ongoing.<\/p>\n De Vera said previous releases were \u201cpiecemeal updates\u201d and said \u201cthe government needs to lay out the full facts so we can get on with the urgent work of fixing the system and saving lives\u201d.<\/p>\n The release of a detailed analysis will assist the health coalition\u2019s call for appropriate funding of mental health services in NSW, de Vera said.<\/p>\n Related Article Dr Pramudie Gunaratne, CEO of the Australian Society of Psychiatrists, said the system was \u201cnot functioning\u201d.<\/p>\n She said demand for mental health support in NSW emergency departments was at \u201can all-time high, whereas resourcing seems to be dwindling\u201d.<\/p>\n Gunaratne said community mental health services were \u201clike a desert\u201d, with people unable to access the therapy they needed, leading them to resort to ED admission.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething has to change,\u201d she said. \u201cWe would never accept this level of under-resourcing for any other part of our health system.\u201d<\/p>\n While Richardson has now found trauma-focused therapy helpful, she said her previous crisis could have been prevented through better access to quality care. She remembered feeling as though she was \u201chitting a wall\u201d as she oscillated between being turned away for not having a serious enough presentation, and then later being sectioned when her health deteriorated.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the times that I have become really unwell, it\u2019s not out of isolation,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cI have tried to get more help, and the resources just aren\u2019t there because the system\u2019s designed in a way where it can only really respond to you once you\u2019re at a breaking point. It\u2019s traumatising.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re either treated like you\u2019re not suffering enough or you\u2019re crazy \u2013 there\u2019s no in between.\u201d<\/p>\n Crisis support is available from Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Carly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bcfc955f57d6fcbe2795b2e53a0ab0a67b1c0e8e.jpeg\")
Carly Richardson said the police response to her suicide attempt was \u201cdehumanising\u201d.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"Carly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0ae3c590f128a32da5fb2c628b2f53e74a5f2ebc.jpeg\")
Carly Richardson said the police response to her suicide attempt left her with bruises.<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5c438fc6f609549a1a5ebeda1eda464d8c1d7c6c.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"CAPTION](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/49088aa79e02afe09a56eb216191357e313b5320.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n