Samoa’s youth advocate and co-chair of the Samoa Youth Advisory Board, Jasmine Koria, has raised concerns over the country’s high youth suicide rates, attributing the issue to a lack of funding and expertise in mental health services.
Koria, a dedicated youth leader and educator for nearly a decade, is also a Commonwealth Scholarship Distance Learning Scholar pursuing a Master of Arts at the Open University of the United Kingdom. She believes the state of Samoa’s mental health care system requires urgent attention.
Lack of Resources and Safe Spaces
“If that doesn’t tell us something about the state of the medical and social infrastructure that is meant to cater for such intersections as mental ill-health, neurodivergence, grief, and psychological trauma, then I don’t know what will,” Koria stated.
She emphasized that mental health struggles are not confined to young people alone. “People are suffering—it’s everyone, and it could be anyone. The problem is everywhere. We often talk about this as being a ‘youth issue.’ It’s not. Teachers struggle. Healthcare workers struggle. Clergy and religious support staff struggle.”
Koria pointed out the dire shortage of qualified mental health practitioners on the island, with only a handful available to the general public throughout the year. She also highlighted the necessity of establishing safe spaces for those in need, stressing that such spaces require responsible and trustworthy individuals to manage them.
“Being a ‘safe person’ isn’t just about not being physically abusive, although that is very important,” she said. “Safe people keep the confidence of those who confide in them. Safe people don’t laugh when someone shares a traumatic childhood memory. Safe people don’t go and tell your pastor or your relatives what you shared with them if you’ve asked them not to.”
She believes that accountability at an individual level is crucial for meaningful progress in mental health care. “Until we reach that level—where we as individuals are accountable and ‘safe’ in that way—I feel like no amount of funding and expertise will really make much difference.”
Building a Community-Based Support System
Koria has called for the development of a solid community-based social support system to assist those facing mental health struggles. She stressed the importance of finding a reliable network of close friends or family members for support.
“Families are important here. If not your family, find a good network of close friends whom you can talk to, laugh with, or just sit quietly with on difficult days,” she advised. “I say this as someone who has experienced a lot of personal grief and trauma but still has to go out to work and manage high-level community responsibilities every day.”
Reflecting on her own experiences with loss, Koria shared that she lost her father, grandmother, and mother in a short period. “It was painful, and I felt so immobilized; I couldn’t work, couldn’t think, and couldn’t move on some days. My big extended family and a few very close friends supported me by visiting me, taking me to their house for weekends, and praying over me.”
To maintain her well-being, she recently relocated closer to her uncle and aunt, who are in pastoral ministry. “Just to feel that support,” she explained. “It has enabled me to be where I am, professionally and academically, today.”
A Call for Greater Investment in Mental Health
While acknowledging the efforts of mental health professionals, activists, and advocates already working in Samoa, Koria insists that further improvements are necessary. “There is a need for more mental health professionals as this is very important,” she said.
As mental health challenges continue to affect individuals across all sectors of society, advocates like Koria emphasize the urgency of funding, expertise, and community-based support systems to address this critical issue in Samoa.
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