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THE Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) is encouraging individuals and organisations to renew their membership for 2018/19, if you haven't done so already. There are many great membership benefits, but importantly you become part of a wider group of mental health stakeholders, and together, our voices and actions are stronger and more likely to drive change.
You can become a member if you have lived experience as a consumer or carer, work in mental health, your organisation provides mental health services, or your organisation supports better mental health outcomes for the community. There are a range of options.
Find out more about WAAMH membership here.
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MENTAL HEALTH WEEK - Less than three weeks to go!
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Mental Health Week starts... on 7 October!
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Mental health under the spotlight in the media
WAAMH has partnered with The West Australian again this year to release a Health + Medicine magazine on World Mental Health Day - 10 October, in Wednesday's paper during Mental Health Week.
To feature your organisation and its services in this lift-out, you have until 26 September to book a space.
Hard copies will also be distributed at events and the stories shared online and via social media.
We strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to highlight your service at these heavily subsidised advertising rates, and provide the wider WA community with an insight to the supports you offer.
Advertising prices flyer
Endorsement letter from WAAMH CEO Taryn Harvey
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ADVOCACY & REPRESENTATION
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The budget low down: increasing community support just a far-off hope?
WAAMH has updated its analysis of this year’s state budget.
The good news is cuts to prevention this year have mostly been repaired - but there is still a gaping hole in the prevention budget once the suicide prevention strategy expires next year.
Reading between the lines of Parliament’s discussion during budget estimates gives us a few clues to this government’s next moves in mental health.
Step Up Step Downs remain firmly on their agenda, and while there is positive noise about funding bids to increase prevention, there is a concerning lack of detail around funding more community support.
View WAAMH's budget brief here.
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National Disability Insurance Scheme
THERE are 14 WA providers of soon-to-end mental health programs that have joined a WAAMH-supported research project to track how many consumers of these programs can access the NDIS.
The programs - Partners in Recovery, Day to Day Living and Personal Helpers and Mentors - are all set to end as their funding has been rolled into the NDIS - but not all people will be eligible to continue to access these programs.
Our national research will track who gets access and who misses out - one of the crucial steps needed to make ensure people who benefit from the NDIS can get support - and that no one else is worse off. More information about the Commonwealth Mental Health Programs Monitoring Project can be found at CMHA - our national peak: https://cmha.org.au/projects-and-initiatives/
WAAMH is also working with the WA Primary Health Alliance to plan supports for consumers who use these programs now but won’t be eligible for the NDIS.
For more information, or to inform WAAMH's advocacy and development around NDIS and mental health, contact Chelsea McKinney on cmckiney@waamh.org.au or 6246 3003.
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Accomodation Support Strategy consultation
WAAMH, Shelter WA, Mental Health Matters 2, and CoMHWA invite you to have your say on the new Draft Western Australian Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Accommodation and Support Strategy 2018-2025.
We are holding a morning and afternoon event on 5 October to provide you with an opportunity to share your views on the Draft Accommodation and Support Strategy, and other accommodation and housing issues in WA, in a workshop setting.
Feedback from these events will be collected by WAAMH and the partnering organisations, and fed back to the Mental Health Commission to inform the final version of the Accommodation and Support Strategy.
Please RSVP here to the morning session by 3 October 2018.
Afternoon session registration here.
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Need better access to support? WAAMH now consulting on prevention and community support!
TO inform our advocacy on prevention, suicide prevention and community support, WAAMH is now conducting some targeted consultations with individual and organisational members and state-funded agencies.
If you want to see new programs and more investment in these areas, please get in touch now! We would like to hear from the lived experience of our Individual members - please share your story with us. With your permission, the information you share will be used in our advocacy materials including a pre-budget submission to the government. We will work with you to represent your views in whatever way you are comfortable with.
Contact: Elizabeth Connor (for prevention and suicide prevention) econnor@waamh.org.au or Chelsea McKinney (for community support) cmckinney@waamh.org.au or phone 6246 3000.
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Many Voices, Big Impact- Lived Experience Submission to the Sustainable Health Review Interim Report
IN mid-2018 WA’s peak bodies representing mental health and consumers invited people with lived experience, carers or family members to participate in two community conversations about the Sustainable Health Review Interim Report, with a focus on mental health and the future of the mental health system in WA.
The final report from these events is now available and captures key themes and recommendations that emerged from the lived experience feedback received at the events. This report has been sent to the Sustainable Health Review Panel and Secretariat, to be considered in the final SHR report.
View the report here.
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My Health Record - in or out?
ASSESSING both the benefits and risks of a My Health Record from a lived experience perspective, CoMHWA has produced this handy guide for consumers to make an informed decision.
You will automatically have a My Health Record created for you by the government unless you opt out before 15 November 2018.
Download CoMHWA's guide here so you can decide what's best for you before you opt out.
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SECTOR DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
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WAAMH Training - October 2018
OCTOBER mental health training courses presented by WAAMH include: Managing Anxiety on 3 Oct; Trauma-informed Care on 15 Oct; De-escalation Techniques on 18 October; and Re-thinking Thoughts on 29 Oct.
Semester One 2019 – Training Calendar
Next year’s semester one training calendar will be released in November. Join our training mailing list to keep up to date with the latest training activities.
View more details and enroll here.
Training Services Review
To ensure WAAMH's training offerings address the current and ongoing learning needs of the mental health community; are contemporary in both content and delivery; and reflects the voice of the sector - the workforce, consumers and carers – there is a training review underway.
We will be seeking your engagement in our review process in coming weeks through a variety of mechanisms including direct feedback, face-to-face meetings, focus groups, and surveys.
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Individual advocacy and peer education services
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CoMHWA continues to represent and advance the voice of people with lived experience in WA through its ongoing systemic advocacy work, peer workforce development, education and training programs.
It currently offers individual advocacy for people who are engaged with the NDIS and need assistance to choose or change supports; and engaged with the Individualised Community Living Strategy and need assistance to choose or change ICLS supports.
CoMHWA also has Peer Education Programs for self-advocacy, medication choices, recovery and service navigation.
Rolling out soon is a range of peer education programs and resources for people living in private psychiatric hostels, people taking psychiatric medication and people who are wanting to learn about recovery service options.
Experienced peer educators assist people to grow their confidence in speaking up, leading their recovery journey, and connecting with services.
Find out more at: http://www.comhwa.org.au
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Software to help NFPs
Community Insight Australia software includes:
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Data Mapping. Use data from the ABS Census and other sources to map over 500 social indicators, including but not limited to socio-economic indexes, Centrelink payments, hospital admissions for mental health, and early childhood development.
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Automated reports. Select any area in Australia and produce a comprehensive but easy-to-read report in Microsoft Word within 10 minutes. Reports contain over 500 data points and graphs.
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Comparing areas of interest. Select areas of interest and key indicators to compare via a colour-coded dashboard.
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Map your own data. Map addresses of interest that can be overlaid on any social indicator, enabling a comparison of need and service delivery. Users can also produce heat maps of their own data.
Find out more: https://communityinsightaustralia.org/media-kit/
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Rehabilitation and Recovery Symposium
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A FREE Symposium is being held at Graylands from 1-5 October, by the North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) and Mental Health Public Health and Dental Services (MHPHDS), to examine the rehabilitation and recovery for people with complex mental health needs.
The sessions on Monday (1st Oct) and Tuesday (2nd Oct) will allow staff from the non-government, clinical, planning and commissioning sectors and carer and consumer delegates to hear multiple local specialists speak. A range of related topics will be covered stressing the importance of a ‘whole of system’ approach.
The Wednesday (3rd Oct) workshop session will be facilitated by the Mental Health Commission targeting non-government organisation executive officers and clinical and operational mental health leads across the health services. This workshop will focus on identifying gaps, needs and opportunities for change and making plans for improvements that can be enacted.
Thursday’s (4th Oct) session is particularly targeted at the Intensive Community Outreach teams (ICOT), Individualised Community Living Service (ICLS) workers, Hospital Extended Care staff (HECS) staff in NMHS MHPHDS and those staff that are likely to rotate into clinical rehabilitation roles. Staff from other Health Services in these roles are most welcome to attend this session to be held at Graylands.
The symposium is considered timely given planned changes for Graylands referred to in the Western Australian Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan 2015-2025 and the recent release of the Draft Western Australian Health, Alcohol and Other Drug Accommodation and Support Strategy 2018-2025.
Please RSVP which day/s you wish to attend to via e-mail to fiona.j.mcdonald@health.wa.gov.au
The organiser’s intent is to arrange video recording of the symposium with the link to the sessions made available to interested parties, upon request.
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NDIS Conference - Victoria
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THE 2nd Annual National NDIS and Mental Health Conference
is being jointly hosted by Community Mental Health Australia and Mental Health Victoria, in Melbourne on 31 October and 1 November 2018.
Tickets are on sale and the conference program is available at: https://www.ndismentalhealthconference.com.au/
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Recovering The Mental Health System
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ON Tuesday, 9 October, a Mental Health Network Meeting will hold a session focusing on 'Recovering the Mental Health System' and led by Ros Bowyer and Bryan Mather who have are skilled facilitators and passionate leaders in the area of recovery based mental health.
It will be held from 3:30pm – 5:00pm at Warren Lake Hall, Woodlands Reserve.
Register here: https://www.mhpn.org.au/NetworkMeetingRSVP/1006
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World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference heads to Perth
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THE second World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference encourages Indigenous nations worldwide to gather and validate their cultural norms and realities, whilst looking at how to reduce suicide.
This year it will be hosted at Rendezvous Hotel, Scarborough in Perth on 22-23 November 2018, preceded by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference at the same venue on 20-21 November.
Registrations are now open. Find out more at: http://ispc2018.com/world_indigenous_suicide_prevention/
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Women's Health & Wellbeing Day
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If you would like a stall at this event, contact the City of Cockburn for all the details.
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