News

Australians encouraged to shape mental health

Australians with a lived experience of mental illness to help shape national mental health reform.

The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, has called on interested Australians to apply to become members of the Consumer Reference Group which will help set the directions of the National Mental Health Consumer Organisation.The Group will have an integral role in advising on policy areas for the new organisation. Importantly, it will lay the groundwork to enable our new mental health consumer body to hit the ground running and bring a strong and consolidated voice to mental health policy in Australia, as quickly as possible.

The cut off date to apply is 3pm February 20, 2012.

For more information click here

The Carer Advocate Needs your Support

Please help us to give the Victorian Government the message that Mental Health Carers need and deserve an advocate who can walk alongside them and provide a voice.

Created by ARAFEMI, the Victorian Carer Advocate position commenced in 2009, in answer to carer demand to have an independent advocate to support their voice being heard. The service has been highly successful and strengthened the ability of carers, and services, to better respond to carer need. The service provided a statewide, service neutral, casework model where an advocate could support carers across a range of sectors. The pilot was made possible through the generous donation by a carer.

This service will cease at the end of December 2011 unless government funding is provided.

If you agree that Mental Health Carers need a greater voice please join us in sending this message. You can do this by signing our online petition:

Give Victorian Mental Health Carers a Voice
Please note - this website will ask you for a donation. Any donations provided DO NOT go to ARAFEMI they go to the Petition Online - Australia website.

Or write to your local Member of Parliament http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members or The Minister for Mental Health Hon. Mary Wooldridge MP, Level 22, 50 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000 mary.wooldridge@parliament.vic.gov.au

Centre for Excellence in Peer Support (Mental Health)

The new Centre for Excellence in Peer Support (Mental Health) was launched in June 2011. Providing internet-based resources and individualised support, its purpose is to support capacity-building in peer support work. It is for use by consumer and carer peer support workers, NGOs, mental health services and individuals who provide or want to provide peer support.

The Centre’s website (http://www.peersupportvic.org/) provides access to resources such as:

A peer support services directory
Practical resources to use in your work, such as sample forms, templates and guides
Recent research on peer support
Upcoming training and peer support positions being advertised
Training materials on setting up support groups and peer support services (coming soon)
Linkage and information sharing via on-line forums

The Centre also provides access to free project support and mentoring via its skilled project worker.

The website needs your input – it’s a framework to be filled with your experience, knowledge and collective wisdom about peer support. So, please send in your contributions!

The Centre of Excellence has been established by the seven statewide Mutual Support and Self Help organisations: ARAFEMI (lead agency), The Compassionate Friends, Eating Disorders Foundation of Victoria (EDFV), Post and Antenatal Depression Association (PANDA), Action Disability Ethnicity Community (ADEC), Anxiety Recovery Centre Victoria (ARCVic) and GROW. It is funded by a grant from the ANZ Trust William Buckland Foundation.

Your questions, comments and suggestions are welcome, ph. 1300 237 199 or email peer.support@arafemi.org.au.

Charter of Peer Support

The Charter was launched at the same time as the Centre of Excellence. Its purpose is to promote and advocate for the further recognition and resourcing of peer support work. It highlights the validity and importance of peer support and sets out its key values, principles and benefits. Especially if you are a peer support provider, please endorse the Charter to strengthen its significance as an collective advocacy tool and a widely recognised statement by community-based peer support services. See http://www.peersupportvic.org/peer-support-charter for more information.

2011 ARAFEMI Victorian Carer Advocate Program Research Report

The ARAFEMI Victorian Carer Advocate Program was implemented in September, 2009 as a pilot program. Since its inception, the aim of the program has been:

to provide an independent, service-neutral, state-wide Carer Advocacy Program in Victoria.
to improving the responsiveness of the mental health system to Carers and mental health consumers alike.

The newly released 18 month evaluation report outlines the development of the program, results and recommendations.

To download a copy of the Executive Summary click here

To read the full report please email chandi.piefke@arafemi.org.au

Mental Health Line launched

The Mental Health Advice Line is a statewide Victorian phone service that provides immediate, expert mental health advice from a registered mental health professional, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By calling one statewide number – 1300 280 737 – Victorians of all ages and backgrounds will now have speedy access to clear expert advice, referral and information about the full spectrum of mental health issues. Calls from anywhere in Victoria are charged at the cost of a local call (mobile phones may be charged at a higher rate).

The Mental Health Advice Line is one of the initiatives under the Because Mental Health Matters: Victorian Mental Health Reform Strategy 2009-2010. It was established in response to the low level of knowledge about mental health problems in the community – people do not always know who to turn to for help. This new service is designed to complement the existing service system and will be delivered by the same organisation that delivers the NURSE-ON-CALL service. For more information see the MHAL website www.health.vic.gov.au/mhal

Brand new carer service in the North: “Caring Together”

Caring Together, carers assisting other carers with peer support, is a new carer driven service being sponsored by the Northern Mental Health Alliance. It provides additional support to carers and families across the Northern region of Melbourne (Darebin and Whittlesea).

This exciting new program offers carers the opportunity to talk to another carer about the many worries that may present when a family member or friend becomes unwell with mental illness. Through working in partnership with clinical and community services in the Northern region, our Caring Together project offers the opportunity to seek more information about all the mental health and carers services available.

The Peer Support workers are someone you can go to for support, information and referrals. Sometimes it can be helpful to talk to someone in person, who can listen and be there for you, as well as explore different pathways to recovery. This service is particularly helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves over the phone and prefer to talk face to face with someone about what is going on. The Caring Together workers have experience as carers of people with a mental illness and provide valuable and compassionate support to assist families who are supporting someone with mental illness.

The program offers access to carers from non-english speaking backgrounds. For further information, or to make an appointment, please contact the ARAFEMI Northern Office by calling direct on 9457 7130.