ACT Mental Health Sector Update: 19 January 2024

In this Sector Update, find:

Director of Engagement and Partnerships blog, from Vicky Choice
Sector News
Upcoming events
Grants, community resources, and other opportunities

Our next Sector Update will be in 9 February. Let us know if you have anything you'd like us to include by replying to this email.

Welcome to what is looking to be an exciting 2024 in mental health reform!

We hope you had an opportunity for some rest and respite during the end of year holiday period. Following a Christmas shutdown period, the MHCC team returned in early January. We are excited to share a few updates with you, our valued members.

Firstly, you may be wondering who I am!

My name is Vicky, and I have joined MHCC as the Director of Engagement & Partnerships. I bring 20 years' experience recruiting leaders for the NGO, government, and commercial sector, and my role at MHCC spans member engagement, government relations, and partnership development.

Over the coming weeks, I will be having conversations across our membership base to learn about your services, and how we as your peak body can best add value through advocacy, communications, events, and other resources. I am excited to get to know you and your team and look forward to hearing your perspectives about critical issues facing our sector.

I will be onboard until Melanie returns from parental leave in July 2024, and will be available Monday to Thursday. I will be in touch in the coming weeks; however you can reach me on vicky.choice@mhccact.org.au

Now for some other updates.

Our submissions: Our team is working on submissions to ACT inquiries into loneliness and social isolation, as well as climate change and a just transition. We are also finalising our pre-budget submission.

We are excited to work with the government on the issues we raise, while highlighting the value and needs of the community mental health system, and articulating our vision of how the ACT’s mental health system could be funded to work better. We would love your input to bolster our position and shape a positive outcome, and we encourage you to contribute to our submissions, or by creating your own. If we can help in any way, please contact the team on 0493388756.

Expression of Interest for ACTHD and MHCC Outcomes Advisory Panel: We are inviting members of our community to express their interest in joining the ACTHD and MHCC Outcomes Advisory Panel. This panel plays a crucial role in shaping outcomes and performance frameworks. If you possess technical expertise, evaluation experience, or have worked in NGOs delivering mental health services, or bring other key skills, we encourage you to read the draft Terms of Reference and submit your Expression of Interest by COB, Tuesday 6 February. Your perspectives will contribute to the development of innovative and effective outcomes frameworks.

Upcoming Member Meetings: As mentioned, I will be connecting with as many members as possible during the next 6 months. I look forward to meeting you to better understand your needs and challenges, so keep an eye out for the coffee invite!

- Vicky Choice, Director of Engagement and Partnerships MHCC ACT

In the news

ACT Government agrees to consider trial of four-day work week | Riotact
Assessment or food? Families struggle to get ADHD or autism diagnosis | Braidwood Times
Hours on hold: These are the longest wait times Centrelink callers have faced | SBS News
If nothing is done, we'll be waving goodbye to middle-class Australia | The Canberra Times
'Not totally where we want to be': ACT nurse ratios consistently fall short | The Canberra Times
'Pushes people into greater hardship': Well-known charity cuts ties with Work for the Dole | SBS News
South Canberra Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service opens | Canberra Daily
Will 2024 spell death by paperwork for Canberra's early learning centres? | Riotact
What to know about the looming supermarket price-gouging review | SBS News
Youth mental health crisis laid bare as new service opened | The Canberra Times

MHCC ACT Policy Participation

Email your Expression of Interest to erin.stewart@mhccact.org.au, including a brief cover letter highlighting the skills and expertise you would bring to the Panel by COB, Tuesday 6 February.

Expressions of Interest are open for the ACTHD & MHCC Outcomes Advisory Panel

MHCC ACT is seeking Expressions of Interest in the upcoming Outcomes Advisory Panel.

The aim of the Outcomes Advisory Panel is to establish and implement a new mental health outcomes and performance framework for the ACT, and to facilitate clearer demonstration of the contribution mental health services make to the mental health and wellbeing of the Canberra community.

More information and download the draft Terms of Reference.

Showcase your impact & share your insights on loneliness and social isolation

The ACT government has initiated an Inquiry into Loneliness and Social Isolation in the ACT, recognising the profound impact these issues have on our collective wellbeing.

MHCC is actively contributing to this important dialogue. We aim to highlight the crucial role the community-managed mental health sector and grassroots community action plays in addressing loneliness and social isolation.

We encourage all members as well as individuals and community groups to participate in our submission, or make their own.

More information.

Seeking participants

Have your Say: Consciousness and the phenomenology of psychosis survey

Overview of study

Participate in a study exploring how changes in consciousness affect first-person experience of psychosis? Changes in consciousness include changes in a person’s level of wakefulness, the quality of the things a person is aware of, and how well memory and decision-making work. If the difference between experiencing psychosis and not experiencing psychosis is related to such changes then perhaps these changes can help us understand the type of experiences people have when psychotic – such as hearing voices that are not there or having ideas about things that may not be true.

We are looking for people identifying as mental health consumers (that is, people with personal experience of mental health issues) who have experienced at least one psychotic episode. All participants must be at least 18 years old and live in Australia. You will need reliable internet access on a computer or mobile device.

Participants are asked to complete an (anonymous) online survey that will take approximately 20 minutes.

Survey

Australian Mental Health Promotion Practitioner Competency Framework

Mental health promotion is a specialist field of endeavour that focuses on three outcomes:

Promoting mental wellbeing.
Preventing the onset of mental health conditions.
Enhancing mental health literacy to promote self-care, and help-giving and help-seeking for mental ill-health, and suicidal ideation.

While the field has existed for some time, it has not always received the attention it deserves. Prevention United is keen to change this, and encourage more people to work in mental health promotion. We believe that having a Competency Framework is one way to achieve this. To ensure that the Competency Framework accurately captures the core knowledge and skills required to be an effective mental health promotion practitioner, we would like people already working in mental health promotion or related fields like health promotion and public health to provide their feedback on a Consultation Draft we have developed.

MHCC ACT Events and Training

Alcohol Brief Intervention training for community sector workers

Half day Alcohol Brief Intervention Training being conducted online via Zoom by the Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT (ATODA) in partnership with the Mental Health Community Coalition of the ACT, Youth Coalition of the ACT and ACT Shelter to address harmful alcohol use in the ACT. This training is designed for staff who work with clients who may be using alcohol in a risky manner and would like to learn more about delivering a brief intervention using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).

Register now

Upcoming events

Primary Health Services for Young People Grant

Eligible organisations are invited to apply for the Primary Health Services for Young People (PHSYP) Open Grant. The ACT Government is pleased to release this open grant opportunity to invest in the health and wellbeing of young Canberrans and the PHSYP subsector through a model/s of care focused on young people.

A total of $2.134 million per annum (GST exclusive) over a core period of five years has been allocated for the PHSYP grants program (subject to Community Sector Indexation), with possibility of extension of up to two years. The PHSYP grant will be administered by the ACT Health Directorate.

Young peoples’ voices, lived experience and expertise have been integral to commissioning in this subsector, and it is the Territory's goal that these voices are centred in the delivery of services in the ACT. The ACT Government thanks the young people, PHSYP subsector and community members who have contributed to consultation and collaborative design through this commissioning cycle.

More information and to apply by 26 February.

Stratford Scholarship - Expression of Interest

The Stratford Scholarship and lecture has been established to honour Anthony Stratford’s contributions to the Peer Workforce.

Anthony Stratford was a pioneer in the lived experience movement in Australia. He dedicated his life to advocating for a recovery and lived experience approach to supporting people with mental health and wellbeing challenges.

The Expression of Interest for the scholarship is open to an emerging Peer leader from diverse and intersectional backgrounds to support their leadership development. Examples of possible purposes for the scholarship include leadership development training, discipline specific supervision, development of a new initiative, exploring peer led innovations.

You may apply for this expression of interest individually or in a small group.

Applications close 7 February.

Care Work and Development Program

If you are struggling to pay ACT traffic, parking and traffic camera infringements, you may be eligible to complete a community work or social development program, which can result in the amount of infringement debt owed being reduced.

Participants, approved for a WDP with Access Canberra, can register to attend Care's Budgeting for Life workshop. Each workshop session runs 2 hours in duration which contributes to reducing your infringement fine by $100.

Workshop sessions are held throughout the year.

More information.

Next Steps Outpatient Program

Next Steps is a virtual, intensive program that can provide you with interim care after inpatient treatment for an eating disorder. The program aims to reduce relapse and readmission after leaving hospital or residential programs to support long term recovery.

The program is free to eligible Australians and provides a minimum of 3 hours support per day, 3 days a week, for 8 weeks via a multidisciplinary team, including:

Weekly individual psychology, dietetic and peer worker sessions
Structured meal support and group programs
Weekly psychoeducational sessions and support groups for carers
Nursing support and regular case conferencing with a GP or psychiatrist to ensure there is continuity in your treatment plan

Next Steps also provides support for carers through education and the introduction of skills to assist in their loved one’s recovery.

You can self-refer to the program or be referred by your GP or psychiatrist via the different forms below. If you are self-referring, your GP or psychiatrist will be required to complete a referral form supporting your application to the program and providing medical clearance.

Once the medical referral has been received and you have been accepted into the program, you will undergo a psychosocial and dietetic assessment with program staff.

Find out more.

Editorial policy
Opinions expressed in articles included in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the policy position of MHCC ACT. Information included in this newsletter is for general information purposes only and should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular service.

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Acknowledgement of Country
MHCC ACT acknowledges all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Custodians and Country and recognises their continuing connection to land, sea, culture and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

ACT Mental Health Sector Update

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