Nathan Appo's father is his "best mate". But when his dad fell into depression, he felt shut out of his life. or signup to continue reading "He wasn't leaving his room, he wasn't able to talk to myself or talk to our family," Mr Appo said at a promotional event for Movember.
"It was heartbreaking ...
because my best mate couldn't talk to me and I didn't understand." But Neil Appo turned a corner, and his struggle became an important part of his son's advocacy for Indigenous men's health. "Now we're able to talk about that and be in spaces to talk about our experiences.
" Mr Appo is a Mamu man and Indigenous health advocate who acts as a spokesperson for groups including the Movember Institute of Men's Health and Deadly Health. As a young man he was invited to Parliament House by legendary activist Charles Perkins to advocate for the Indigenous health program. His father saved himself when he chose to open up to his family and see a therapist for his depression, but many men in their community aren't so lucky.
While the life expectancy of Indigenous people has been slowly rising over the past decade, it is still about 10 years shorter than that of other Australians with Indigenous men being worse off than women. Australian men, in general, are less likely to seek medical and mental health support for preventable conditions, and men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. But the rate for Indigenous men is three times higher than that, and most of the victims a.