No images? Click here
Welcome to the July edition of the TSPCN news!
In this issue:
- Network Update
- Have Your Say
- Member News
- Events, Opportunities & Training
- Grant Opportunities
- Resources & Support
Winter has well and truly arrived. I have always looked forward to the shortest day of the year as it means that the days are going to start getting longer and summer is that bit closer. For the last four years I’ve had something extra to look forward to, SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY’s Shorts Day. Once again I broke out the shorts to support the day, this year along with more than 20,000 other people who were keen to Brave the Cold and Brave the Conversation.
I recently attended the Suicide Prevention Australia’s national conference and national LiFE Awards. It’s an inspiring and motivating experience to be immersed in a very large group of people who are passionate about making a difference in suicide prevention. While there were many standouts from the program, a couple of pieces really resonated with me. Jo Langford’s acknowledgement of lived experience and her spoken word piece, a second letter to suicide, was an incredibly powerful and moving acknowledgement of lived experience. Nick Hudson, founder of the push up challenge (some of you may have recently engaged in this initiative) gave an insightful presentation in to how he turned a bit of fun with a couple of mates to get fit over winter into a large-scale initiative for suicide prevention. Finally, A/Prof David McDaid’s presentation “We can't afford not to talk about it. Making the economic case for self-harm and suicide prevention” was excellent and clearly established the economic and human argument for why investment in suicide prevention is critical.
These events have also led me to reflect on the fantastic initiatives that we have in Tasmania and how we may apply some of the key learnings in the work we do.
Thank you all for your ongoing contribution to the TSPCN and its activities.
I hope you enjoy the Winter edition of the newsletter.
Michael,
Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Community Network Chair
Please join us for the next Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Community Network (TSPCN) meeting! The TSPCN meeting will be held from 11am-1pm in Launceston at UTAS.
We are excited to have the following guest speakers sharing at the meeting:
- Bianca Welsh - From Experience
- Ben Hirst - Mental Health Council of Tasmania
- Mental Health Alcohol and Drug Directorate
We hope to see you there!
Interested in what was discussed at the previous online meeting? You can read previous meeting minutes on the Suicide Prevention Tas website.
We are starting to plan for next year's Suicide Prevention Forum and for the 20th year of the LiFE Awards in Tasmania. We would love to hear from you if you have any ideas of speakers you would like to hear from at the Forum. Use the Have your Say feedback button below to share your ideas. Please also start thinking about who you could nominate for an award.
Congratulations to the following groups who have recently created and launched Community Action Plan's:
- Care Forward Launceston
- Men Care Too
- Spring Bay Suicide Prevention Network
- Retired Police Association of Tasmania
Well done to each; we can't wait to see the positive outcomes in the coming months!
Curious about how a Community Action Plan can benefit your group, workplace, sporting club, organisation or community? Click the button below to discover more.
Feedback
Got feedback? We love hearing from you.
Share in our upcoming newsletter
Want to include something in our next newsletter or on our socials? Add your piece by hitting the 'submit item' button below and following the prompts.
Newsletters are sent out quarterly. To include something in our spring edition have your information to us by 27 September 2024.
The 5th annual Winter Solstice swim was held at Raspins Beach, Orford, on Saturday June 22nd. This year, there was a record number of 70 amazing people of all ages, who braved the 12-degree water, just as the sun appeared over Maria Island. They were encouraged by our drummers and their less brave family and friends.
This bathers on event is organised by the Spring Bay Suicide Prevention Network. The aim is to foster positive mental health, engage the community, have a great time and revel in the beauty of our natural surroundings.
We know of the benefits from cold-water swimming, but when you combine this with the opportunity to shiver with others, share a BBQ and warm up to the sounds of our wonderful local choir, no wonder we all felt energised and happy.
Missed out? Don’t fret - come along to the next Spring Bay Winter Solstice Swim!!!
Tasmania is transitioning to the National Communications Charter!
In 2018, Tasmania became the first state to adopt the National Communications Charter. Working with Everymind and the Tasmanian Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Communications Charter Working Party, the Mental Health Council of Tasmania adapted the National Charter to create the state based Tasmanian Communications Charter (the Tas Charter) and associated training resources.
The Charter, developed with support from the Tasmanian Government, was a key action of the Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Strategy (2012-2020) with the goal of encouraging help-seeking behaviour and reducing stigma around mental health and suicide in Tasmania.
Since its inception, the Charter has united organisations across the community and private sectors, the government, and hundreds of individuals to promote a common language around mental health, mental illness, and suicide in Tasmania.
The best and safest language around mental health and suicide continues to evolve. But some of the core principals of the Tas Charter are still just as relevant today as when they were initially launched, and have made significant inroads in helping to reduce stigma around mental health and suicide.
With the rest of the country now catching up the Tasmanian Communications Charter will be retired as we transition to the National Communications Charter. The National Charter has recently been revamped, with the inclusion of new online training modules, something pioneered by MHCT and its partners as part of the Tas Charter.
We encourage everyone to head on over and sign up to the National Communications Charter, whether as an individual or as on organisation (or both!)
MATES NIGHT 2024
“Don’t be scared to ask for help and don’t put off getting a health check.”
Sound advice from Jamie and Gus who took part in our ‘Mates Chat’ during the Men’s Health Week ‘Mates Night’ event in Ulverstone which saw more than 60 guests of all ages come together to celebrate Men’s Health Week 2024.
The night started with everyone treated to a delicious feed of pizza and dessert and it was great to see everyone enjoying the opportunity to catch up with one another socially.
The night continued with attendees hearing from Cheryl who spoke about how sometimes ‘you don’t know you need something until you need it’, and then watching two films 'Beyond OK'; the story of R U OK? founder Gavin Larkin, and 'We Power On'; how Chris Waller started a walking group to help lift him out of a dark time. The stories told in the films resonated with many and provided an opportunity to learn about the benefits of men sharing a walk and talk, and encouraging regular, meaningful conversations with the people in your world.
Rounding out the night Greg spoke on stage with both Jamie and Gus as part of a 'Mates Chat'. Gus & Jamie both shared powerful personal stories, and how it's important to reach out, to look out for one another, and to not look down on others.
Whilst Men's Health Week has finished, the conversations don't stop. Men being proactive with their health through regular checkups and knowing signs to keep an eye out for, are key to good health.
The SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY team is thrilled to report that nearly 22,500 Australians joined their mission to brave the cold and brave the conversation on Friday 21 June for Shorts Day! Talking about mental health can be uncomfortable, and so is wearing shorts in the middle of winter... Shorts Day was created 4 years ago, to remind our community that we are all capable of being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
The small team visited over 40 organisations on the day, letting their shorts talk in support of mental health awareness. This fourth year is officially the biggest event thus far, both in terms of registrations but also of funds raised. The team is humbled to share that $67,500 and counting were raised on the day, and thanks everyone who stood united with them - as well as RACT, who supported them yet again at Shorts Day's official Major Supporter.
What do you do with 17,000 books spanning genres like Tasmanian History, Cooking, Gardening, Art, Music, Children's Classics and more? If you're the manager of the Lifeline Tasmania Op Shop in Argyle Street, then the answer is easy - you hold an incredibly ambitious Book Fair all in the cause of raising money for suicide prevention.
Rob Bouwmeester, manager of the Op Shops at Kingston Beach and 147 Argyle Street in Hobart, has dreamed of holding such a fair. For six months, they've been sorting and packing donations, aiming for an August sale. Additionally, they've added vinyl records to the mix for music lovers.
Paul McIntyre has enjoyed discovering treasures in the donations. “Every day is like Christmas,” Paul explained. “When you open a box of donations and find a collection Agatha Christie books from the 1960s or a rare and out of print Sally Wise cookbook – I don’t know how people can part with them.”
Rob hopes to make the Book and Vinyl Fair an annual event, with proceeds supporting local programs like Chats, A Tasmanian Lifeline and the Suicide Bereavement Group.
The fair, supported by the University of Tasmania, will be held at the Sandy Bay Campus on August 3rd and 4th from 10 am – 4 pm.
R U OK?
R U OK? Day is Thursday 12 September 2024. It’s our National Day of Action when we highlight the importance of meaningful R U OK? conversations and remind all Australians to start them any day of the year.
There are resources available on the R U OK? Day website and we have community ambassadors who you can request to come and speak to your group.
Additionally, the R U OK? Conversation Convoy is touring Tasmania in late September, connecting with people in communities around the State to help promote an understanding of the important role they can play in looking out for their friends, family and colleagues. Watch out for locations and events to come.
Minds Do Matter is an annual, statewide art exhibition celebrating Mental Health Week and promoting positive community conversations about mental health by inviting creative responses to carefully considered themes. The theme for this year is SHINE: Appreciate the little things!
Entries are currently open. Minds Do Matter entries close 11th August 2024.
Minds Do Matter exhibitions will be held at RANT Arts in Devonport, QVMAG in Launceston, and as a first, at Moonah Arts Centre in Hobart. More information on the RANT Arts website.
Future Directions for LGBTIQ+ Youth Suicide Prevention
Webinar: November 12, 2024, at 1:00pm - 2pm (AEDT)
We will be joined by lead investigator, Penelope Strauss, Research Fellow in Youth Suicide Prevention at the Telethon Kids Institute to discuss the latest updates in the implementation of their Suicide prevention guidelines for LGBTQA+ young people.
These guidelines outline best practice for suicide prevention in LGBTQA+ young people, targeting both clinical and community service providers. Implementation of these guidelines in service settings throughout Australia has the potential to improve the care received by LGBTQA+ young people who are experiencing suicidal ideation and/or engaging in suicidal behaviours.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy
Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia is leading redevelopment of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy (NATSISPS).
Rachel Fishlock, Gayaa Dhuwi Chief Executive Officer, shares an update.
Lived Experience of Suicide Summit 2025
After the successful LE Summit 2023, Roses in the Ocean is thrilled to host this meaningful event at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane, Queensland, from 13 to 14 March 2025.
CORES run a variety of training workshops for community members and organisations.
Self-Care and Mental Wellbeing Workshop
This two-hour workshop provides participants with the skills and resources to develop an individualised self-care and mental wellbeing plan that encompasses activities to enhance physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual health on a daily basis.
CORES Suicide Prevention Training
This full day training is designed to provide individuals and communities with the essential skills and resources required to identify and respond to a person at risk of suicide and build on a community's capacity to eliminate suicide.
Providing an Inclusive Practice and Community for LGBTIQA+ People
This day training supports participants to understand the different LGBTIQA+ pronouns, the importance of inclusive language, the challenges and discrimination faced by each of the groups, and to identify how their service or community can become an LGBTIQA+ ally.
Lifeline Training
The Lifeline Tasmania Training and Support team offers statewide community workshops. Training topics include:
In 2024, the theme for Mental Health Week is ‘Appreciate the little things’.
Sharing a smile with a stranger, spending time in the garden, hearing your favourite song on the radio…
What are the things that give you a glimmer of calm and peace on a busy day? The small moments that wouldn’t make the news, but make you feel good?
Having coffee with an old friend, watching a breathtaking sunset, listening to birds singing in the trees…
This Mental Health Week, take a minute to appreciate the little things.
Bell Bay Aluminium runs an annual grant program, offering assistance to community groups and organisations across Tasmania. Grants of up to $3,000 for organisations to fund projects that have a positive impact on local communities.
Improve reading, writing, maths, speaking, listening, and basic computer skills in your workplace or organisation, with a 26Ten Workplace Grant.
Grants of up to $65,000 are available for projects that run for 12 months, building skills in employees and volunteers. Projects fund an Adult Literacy Trainer to work onsite to provide training they have tailored to the needs of the organisation and learner.
Social enterprise grants
Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) Grants help social enterprises, grow their business, scale their impact and further their missions of creating positive social change.
The grants, valued at up to $120,000 each, are targeted towards supporting social enterprises to be more effective and efficient in demonstrating and increasing social impact for the people and communities they exist to support.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC) emails a list of grant opportunities available to the community sector regularly. To get on their email distribution list contact grants@dpac.tas.gov.au. You can also check out some of the grants available on their website.
The Department of State Growth lists and offers grants and loans to community groups, businesses and individuals to assist in professional and sector development in Tasmania.
Healthy Tas Grants
The Healthy Tasmania Fund is a grants program for health and wellbeing in Tasmania. The Fund supports the work of local government and community organisations that are well placed to know their community needs and priorities.
GrantConnect
GrantConnect is the centralised location for Australian Government grants. The system contains information that can be used to search for new Grant Opportunities, find out who has been awarded grants and watch for future programs.
Philanthropy Australia
Philanthropy Australia has a list on their website of useful resources and a list of organisations that may be able to help fund your project.
Council grants
Local councils each provide community grant schemes to support community groups and local activities. See these listed on individual local Council websites.
We acknowledge the individual and collective contributions of those with a lived and living experience of mental ill-health and suicide, and those who love, have loved and care for them.
The Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Community Network acknowledges that we live and work on Aboriginal land, land of the palawa/pakana people of lutruwita (Tasmania). We pay respect to Elders past and present. We honour all those who continue caring for country, sharing stories, and upholding rights.
Here for all Tasmanians
