MY SON TOOK HIS LIFE. THEN HIS DAUGHTER, 12, DID TOO. NO FAMILY SHOULD ENDURE SO MUCH GRIEF..! – HEARTBROKEN GRANDMOTHER BREAKS HER SILENCE AFTER TWO DEVASTATING FAMILY TRAGEDIES.
The heartbroken grandmother of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life last month – after her own father died of suicide a year before – has issued an emotional plea to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Lana Simpson’s granddaughter Alisha Rush died on July 21 – four days before an appointment with a mental health professional but weeks after her school recognised she needed urgent help.
Ms Simpson told the Daily Mail last week that her beloved ‘Ali’, from the NSW Hunter Valley, had been struggling after she lost her dad Kurt a year earlier.
‘That is the failure of the system. Ali had an appointment last Friday but never got there. It was an urgent referral from the school but was unable to be seen for 3.5 weeks,’ Ms Simpson said.
‘The mental health system is a massive failure, whether it be for children or adults.’
Feeling bereft, stricken with grief, and determined to ensure no other family faces a similar tragedy, Ms Simpson has now called on the Prime Minister for help to fix the system
‘Ali was a bright young girl with dreams, kindness, laughter and a future that should have been hers. No parent should have to bury their child. No grandmother should have to bury her granddaughter,’ Ms Simpson wrote in a letter.
‘No family should have to endure this level of grief.’
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Alisha, 12, tragically died last month following a battle with her mental health
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Her heartbroken grandmother has called on Anthony Albanese to do more to help vulnerable Australians
She added: ‘Too many Australians encounter long waiting lists, unaffordable care, shortages of mental health professionals, and services that are stretched beyond capacity. Families are often left trying to navigate an overwhelmed system while watching someone they love struggle.’
Ms Simpson said there needed to be more resources put into mental health services, suicide prevention and early intervention programs, and school-based mental health support for children.
‘I am not suggesting Australia should stop helping other nations. Compassion should never end at our borders. However, I believe we must find a better balance,’ she said.
‘Before committing billions of dollars overseas, we must ensure Australians are not left without the mental health care they desperately need.
‘I cannot bring Kurt back. I cannot bring Ali back. But perhaps their story can help save someone else’s son. Perhaps it can save someone else’s daughter.
‘Perhaps another mother will never receive the phone call that changed my life forever.’
In this year’s Federal Budget, the Albanese government announced $283.2million over four years from 2025-26 to strengthen the mental health and suicide prevention system.
It also allocated $3.1 million over four years from 2025-26 to continue child and youth mental health support for students in Years 7 to 9 in public secondary schools.
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Ali struggled after losing her dad Kurt Rush to suicide a year earlier
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Her family said Ali idolised her dad and never quite had been able to cope with him gone
However that money was a fraction of the $5.209billion that was allocated in the same Budget for development spending in nations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Research shows that children who have lost a parent to suicide are three times more likely to take their own lives.
In an effort to break that cycle, Ms Simpson will join her daughter Jorgia in Lifeline’s ‘Out of the Shadows Walk’ on September 10.
Alisha’s family attended their usual rugby league game last weekend, where her Southlakes Roosters teammates paid a special tribute to her.
She had been playing for the Roosters’ Under-12 girls team this season.
‘We know this will be an emotional day for many. Support will be available at our home ground for any player, parent, carer, volunteer or supporter who may need it,’ the club said in a statement last week.
‘Thank you to everyone who has wrapped their arms around Ali’s family, her teammates and our club over the past week. Your compassion has reminded us of what the rugby league community is all about. Once a Rooster, always a Rooster.’
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She has been remembered as a much-loved daughter, sister, friend and talented young rugby league player for the Southlakes Roosters
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The family has renewed calls for the Albanese government to increase investment in mental health services, suicide prevention following the deaths of Alisha and her father Kurt (pictured with her baby sister)
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Leanne described her daughter Ali (pictured as a youngster) as ‘amazing, intelligent and kind’
Junior rugby league clubs from across the Hunter were also invited to honour Ali’s memory by wearing pink ribbons, styling their hair in three plaits or braids to represent her number three jersey, wearing wristbands, and holding a minute’s silence before kick-off.
Multiple clubs responded, saying they would proudly set aside their number three jerseys for the round and join the tribute.
Ali’s mum, Leanne, who was separated from Kurt at the time of his death, also paid tribute to her daughter, telling 2GB she was an ‘amazing, intelligent and kind girl.’
‘She loved playing sports and going to the beach. She loved her music and played it all hours of the night, until I went into the room and told her to turn it down,’ Leanne said.
‘She knew she had mental health problems but she also tried to put on a brave face.’
If this story affected you, contact Lifeline 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800
