AN exhibition celebrating the life and work of a Canberra artist who took his own life, hopes to highlight the need for improvements within the ACT’s mental health system.

“Weird Years”, on show at Smith’s Alternative until late January, showcases 15 original artworks by emerging artist Ravi Madan, 23, who died by suicide in April last year.

Following Ravi’s death, his parents Leigh Watson and Ashish Madan have  campaigned for changes to the territory’s mental health system.

They hope exhibiting their son’s work will shine a light on the need for improved support for young people following a suicide attempt.

“The exhibition is two-fold. It’s a celebration of our son’s art, but it’s also a vehicle for our advocacy work,” said Leigh.

“Since Ravi passed we have been very active behind the scenes, rattling the chains, and advocating the government, the community sector, service providers and peak bodies on how we can improve the system.”

Ravi’s parents tried in vain to get their son the support he needed to deal with his mental health issues in the years before his death, only to be thwarted by a system they said placed impediments in the way of getting him the help he desperately needed.

“We knew he was struggling for a while and urged him to get help and he wouldn’t,” said Leigh.

“When he had his first suicide attempt it was devastating but we were relieved because we thought now he’s in the system he will get the help he needs but that didn’t happen.

“We felt Ravi didn’t get the proper care he needed, and so he took his life in April.”

Although overwhelmed with grief at the tragic loss of their son to mental health, Ravi’s parents resolved that night to work towards making changes to the system that failed their son.

“The night Ravi died we both thought this was something we could do. The frustrations were there all the time. We didn’t just suddenly say, we are angry, let’s blame the government,” Leigh said.

“We have redirected all our energy into the work we are doing to improve the system.”

Of greatest concern to Ravi’s parents during their son’s battle with mental illness was the lack of dedicated support services for patients who had attempted suicide, and were being discharged from hospital.

“There’s no support structures in place to actually hold someone’s hand who is going through this because when you are mentally unwell you are not in the right frame of mind to make the right decisions for yourself,” said Ashish.

“There is nobody to help take responsibility for someone who is so unwell that they try to take their own life.”

The lack of clear communication was deeply troubling his parents who felt completely in the dark over what was happening.

“When Ravi was released into our care following a suicide attempt it was what was really difficult, and no one would talk to us or tell us what was wrong with him, and what we needed to do to support him,” said Leigh.

“It was like a ticking time bomb. There was no way to diffuse it all.”

One recommendation Ravi’s parents are calling on the ACT government to adopt is for a dedicated caseworker to be assigned to a young person hospitalised due to a suicide attempt.

“That caseworker would turn up at the emergency department and establish a relationship with the young person, and would work with them to identify what that person needs to get better,” said Leigh.

Another recommendation is a support worker for the family to help them better understand and navigate the mental-health system.

“The third recommendation is that all this comes together in case management, so there’s a shared understanding between the providers, the young person and the family to help get them better,” said Leigh.

Ravi’s parents remember their son as a person with a bubbly personality and a promising artist.

“He was a lovely kid, very cute, very charming, he loved people, and he wanted to be an artist,” Leigh said.

“Weird Years”, which exhibits 15 pieces of Ravi’s work, was curated by his close friend Brooke Neilson.

If this article has caused any concern, call Lifeline on 131114.