Message not displaying? View the web version
unsubscribe   forward   Facebook Like Button  Tweet Button
September 2018

eNews September 2018

In this issue

 
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
 
MENTAL HEALTH WEEK - Less than three weeks to go!
Mental Health Week starts... on 7 October!
Mental health under the spotlight in the media
 
ADVOCACY & REPRESENTATION
The budget low down: increasing community support just a far-off hope?
 
National Disability Insurance Scheme
NDIS support
Accomodation Support Strategy consultation
Need better access to support? WAAMH now consulting on prevention and community support!
 
Many Voices, Big Impact- Lived Experience Submission to the Sustainable Health Review Interim Report
 
My Health Record - in or out?
Briefing on My Health Record
 
Mental health and suicide prevention
 
SECTOR DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
WAAMH Training - October 2018
 
Individual advocacy and peer education services
Software to help NFPs
 
EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
Rehabilitation and Recovery Symposium
 
NDIS Conference - Victoria
 
Recovering The Mental Health System
 
World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference heads to Perth
 
Women's Health & Wellbeing Day

 

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

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.

 

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK - Less than three weeks to go!

Mental Health Week starts... on 7 October!

DOWNLOAD your free poster and other resources to help promote Mental Health Week 2018 in your workplace, school or community or on your social media profiles. 

REGISTER your event to feature on the Mental Health Week website events calender. 

SEE what's on near where you live

GET colouring these school holidays! 

LAUGH at Stand Up! for Comedy on 13 October - only 100 tickets left!

LEARN more about this year's theme: Mental health starts we live, learn, work and play. 

Get snapping and share what you're up to for Mental Health Week this year! #mentalhealthstartshere

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 

 

ADVOCACY & REPRESENTATION

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.

 

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.

NDIS support

FOR more information and support regarding the NDIS, we suggest taking a look at one or more of these helpful resources that have been developed:

Victorian carers peak: http://tandemcarers.org.au/resources-for-carers.php

Carers WA: https://www.carerswa.asn.au/carers-wa-services/ndis-in-wa/information-for-mental-health-carers-and-the-ndis/

Consumers of Mental Health WA (CoMHWA): http://www.comhwa.org.au/programs/ndis-supports/

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.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

Briefing on My Health Record

On Wednesday, 3 October, the Australian Digital Health Agency is holding both a midday and evening briefing on My Health Record in Perth - to answer any questions, outline the benefits, explain how it works, and confirm the privacy and security of the system and records.

The briefing will cover the following topics:
• My Health Record overview
• Changes in legislation to provide further privacy protections
• How to manage your record (using privacy controls)
• How we can help you to communicate to your networks/members
• How can people opt out if they choose
• Questions and answers

RSVP to midday briefing (11am - 1pm) here: http://news-subscribe.digitalhealth.gov.au/digitalhealthgovau-a5xdx/pages/vb8cphgqeeibwoahg2alqq.html

RSVP to evening briefing (6pm - 8pm) here: http://news-subscribe.digitalhealth.gov.au/digitalhealthgovau-a5xdx/pages/xmecu7vueeibfoahg2ywgq.html

 

Mental health and suicide prevention

THE National Mental Health Commission has unveiled its final report as part of a long-term approach to monitoring and reporting on national mental health and suicide prevention.

Read the full report (and background to the report) here.

 

SECTOR DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

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.

 

Individual advocacy and peer education services

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

Software to help NFPs

Community Insight Australia software includes:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Comparing areas of interest. Select areas of interest and key indicators to compare via a colour-coded dashboard.
  • 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/

 

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

Rehabilitation and Recovery Symposium

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.

 

NDIS Conference - Victoria

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/

 

Recovering The Mental Health System

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

 

World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference heads to Perth

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/

 

Women's Health & Wellbeing Day

If you would like a stall at this event, contact the City of Cockburn for all the details.

WA Association for Mental Health

1 Nash Street Perth WA 6000

       

 

Tel 08 6246 3000
waamh.org.au
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Flickr