A message from our CEO

Welcome to the October newsletter! The last couple of months has been much of the same for us in this COVID world we are living in. Our thoughts are with to everyone who has been negatively impacted by the virus, the lockdowns and the other ongoing effects of the pandemic. If you feel you’re in need of support in your caring role, please contact our team on 3254 1881.

On a positive note, last month we were notified that we were awarded the Community Infrastructure Investment Partnerships (CIIP) competitive grants program. This is fantastic news as it will allow us to begin work on our mental health carer hub in New Farm. Upstairs will be respite and downstairs will be the carer hub where the carer support team will be based. The carer hub will provide counselling, groups and activities. Exciting times to come and we will keep you updated.

As some of you are aware, we held our annual Arafmi Carer Forum last week at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. It was a great success and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

In other news, we have been working with the Board to introduce slight changes to our Membership process and database. We are now moving towards all Memberships following the financial year calendar. You should have received an email from us regarding your Membership and if you haven’t received it, please check your Junk mail. If you have any questions about this process and what it means to you, please contact our Carer Support Team.

Warm Regards,
Irene Clelland
CEO

Alex Tyson
Service Delivery Manager – Carer Support

Message from the Carer Support Team:

The last couple of months have seen some great opportunities and changes for carers and within Arafmi including the opportunity to participate in carer consultation workshops. We’ve included some information about this in this newsletter.

Last week was Queensland Mental Health Week and National Carer’s Week. We were very busy attending many events and we were so pleased to see those of you who attended. We also co-hosted an event at the Lovewell Café, and despite the rain we had a huge turnout. Our Carer Forum last Wednesday was very well attended and the feedback we have received has been positive. Read more here for an overview of the week.

We have welcomed two new members in the Carer Team who bring great experiences. Benoit is a new Care Support Coordinator and Gillian is completing a placement for her Masters in Social Work over the next 6 months.

For carer activities we have a range of workshops, groups and activities in the upcoming months. The full listing is available on the website Carer & Family Support - Arafmi - support mental health carers and includes walking social groups, some new groups and workshops.  The Family Connections 12 week program has now finished. We will be starting a monthly group to continue supporting carers of people with a Borderline Personality Disorder. Another area of need is supporting people who care for someone with a dual diagnosis. In response to the growing needs of carers we are starting an additional online support group. A workshop was recently held by Lives Lived Well for carers and future workshops will be planned for next year to support carers.

The last month also saw one of the regional support groups finish up. We thank Barbara in Kingaroy for being a supportive facilitator for carers in this region over a number of years. She has made a significant difference and been there for carers. She has made the decision to retire from her role to pursue other interests and we wish her well in this. Thank you Barbara!

We are starting the planning for events, workshops, retreats and activities for 2022. If you have any specific requests, ideas or contacts to share please let us know by calling us or emailing the team at carersupport@arafmi.com.au.

As always if there is anything else we can do for you please let us know. We hope to have the opportunity to connect with you or see you soon.

All the best,

Alex Tyson
Service Delivery Manager – Carer Support

Disability Business Awards – Toowoomba & Darling Downs

In September we were honoured to be part of the wonderful Business DisAbility Awards - Toowoomba and Darling Downs for another year.

Thank you to Paul Wilson, Kim Stokes, David Wallis and the entire planning committee for a fantastic event! Congratulations to all the nominees and winners - well done! It was a beautiful night of celebrating inclusion.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to Libby (2nd from right) and our awesome team in Toowoomba. Thank you for all the hard work you do!

Broncos vs Warriors

In August we received complimentary tickets from the Brisbane Broncos Community team. Kerry, a carer received two free tickets and she took her Mum along with her. They both enjoyed the experience and had a great afternoon!

Upcoming Events

Public Holidays

Please note on the upcoming Public Holidays the office will be closed and groups will not be held:

Fri, 29 Oct: People's Long Weekend (Postponed EKKA holiday)

Mon, 27 Dec: Christmas Day Public Holiday

Tues, 28 Dec: Boxing Day Public Holiday

The 24-hour phoneline will still be available for carers. All volunteers who provide this essential service are thanked for being there.

October

Wed, 20 Oct 12:30 – 1:30pm: Medication Information Session for Carers (Teneriffe/Zoom)

Thur, 21 Oct, 10am-12pm: Carer Social Walking Group (Robelle Domain Parklands)

Mon, 25 Oct, 10:30am – 12:30pm: Understanding the NDIS - Carer Coach Module 1 & 2 (Teneriffe)

Mon, 25 Oct, 1:30 – 3:00pm: Understanding the NDIS - Carer Coach Module 1 & 2 (Zoom)

November

Tues, 2 Nov, 10am-12pm: Creating & Maintaining Healthy Personal Boundaries (Maroochydore)

Wed, 3 Nov 1-2pm: Carers Queensland Information Session (Teneriffe/Zoom)

Mon, 8 Nov, 10:00am – 12:00pm: Connecting with community for you and your family (Teneriffe)

Mon, 8 Nov, 1:30 – 3:00pm: Connecting with community for you and your family (Zoom)

November (cont..)

Wed, 10 Nov, 3:00 – 4:30pm: Part 1 - What Happens When Your Caring Role Ends (Zoom)

Thur, 15 Nov, 3pm - 5pm: Carer and Volunteer Christmas event at Merthyr Bowls Club

Wed, 17 Nov, 10:00am – 12:00pm: Understanding and Supporting Recovery (Teneriffe)

Wed, 17 Nov, 1:30 – 3:00pm: Understanding and Supporting Recovery (Zoom)

Wed, 17 Nov, 3pm – 4:30pm: Part 2 - What Happens When Your Caring Role Ends (Zoom)

Thur, 18 Nov, 10am-12pm: Carer Social Walking Group (Manly)

Mon, 22 Nov, 10:30am – 12:30pm: Understanding the NDIS - Carer Coach Module 1 & 2 (Teneriffe)

Mon, 22 Nov, 1:30 – 3:00pm: Understanding the NDIS - Carer Coach Module 1 & 2 (Zoom)

Wed, 24 Nov, 3:00 – 4:30pm: Part 3 - What Happens When Your Caring Role Ends (Zoom)

Mon, 29 Nov, 10:00am – 12:00pm: Practical Tools for Carers (Teneriffe)

Mon, 22 Nov, 1:30 – 3:00pm: Practical Tools for Carers (Zoom)

December

Wed, 1 Dec, 3:00 – 4:30pm: Part 4 - What Happens When Your Caring Role Ends (Zoom)

Fri, 3 Dec, 10am – 1:00pm: Carer Social Walking Group and Picnic (New Farm Park)

Meet Benoit (Ben)

What's your role?
Carer Support Coordinator

What does that entail?
I will support carers calling the phone line by providing emotional support and information. I will facilitate some of the support groups we run, either face-to-face or online. I will be going to the Ipswich and Caboolture groups. I will facilitate workshops for carers about specific skills and topics to support them through their journey, also I am becoming the Excel and IT support person for our team. I love all the different components of the role, always learning something new and being in contact with people.

What was your first job?
At the steelworks, I was inspecting trucks’ loads. I checked the material quality they were bringing into the plant. The material would ultimately go into the melting plant for recycling and producing steel.

If you could give your 16-year-old self some advice, what would it be?
Never take up smoking, even if you think you will look cooler. It is expensive and so hard to quit, also the morning cough is not worth it and you can meet nice people without having to ask for a lighter first.

Three things still left on your bucket list?
Seeing the edge of space, blacksmithing, hang gliding (with an instructor)

Favourite childhood meal?
Quite stereotypically French: Snails and frog legs (both with garlic and parsley butter)

What's your go-to productivity trick?
Listening to music / Taking a few deep breathes

What’s the best advice you were ever given?
Sometimes going too far deep the why questions rabbit hole will do your head in. In that case focus on how you can express your humanity instead. That was advice I received when I was a student from a guy I randomly met at a pub. I have never seen him again. It changed my life, after I understood it and practiced it.

Carer Consultations

Queensland Health

Arafmi was engaged by Queensland Health to ask carers across Queensland to give feedback about state funded mental health, alcohol and drug services and provide suggestions for future services and supports. Carers had the choice of providing their feedback via a survey online, through 1:1 consultations and at online or face to face workshops. Two carer consultants and Alex undertook the consultation in a relatively short period of time and during pandemic restrictions. We had the opportunity to connect with sixty three carers throughout Queensland and hear personal experiences and feedback. All individual comments were collated and included in the final report for Queensland Health’s consideration. Carers who participated in this consultation are thanked again for the detailed and valuable responses they provided which will assist to shape future services and supports. As other consultation opportunities arise these will be shared with carers.

Griffith University Research

Arafmi and Little Dreamers engaged Griffith University to undertake research across Australia into the needs of Young Carers. The team have now completed this project and presented their findings at the Carer Forum last week. A summary of the final report and link to the full report can be found below. We were also lucky to hear from Abi Cooper, a young carer consultant for Arafmi, who spoke at the forum about her experiences.

Report Summary

Resources in the Sector

Sane Blog – Busting the Myths about Grief

While most people recognise that loss is a normal part of life, the grief that follows is often misunderstood.

To help clear up this confusion, Sane Australia has compiled a list of the common misconceptions held about grief.

#Chatstarter

A small chat can make a big difference. That’s the message from the National Mental Health Commission’s new campaign, known as #ChatStarter.

Developed in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact these are having on the mental health of children and young people, #ChatStarter encourages people to use the tips and resources to help them have supportive conversations.

For those who want to start a conversation with the young people in their lives but don’t know how or what to say, resources and tips are available online.

Conversations play an important role in recognising when someone is going through a difficult time and connecting them to the right type of care.

#ChatStarter is a partnership between the National Mental Health Commission and Australia’s national mental health organisations which specialise in supporting children, young people and parents – batyr, Beyond Blue, Butterfly Foundation, headspace, Kids Helpline, Orygen and ReachOut.

Some of the #ChatStarters suggested as ways to start conversations include:

Walk & Talk
Yarn & Learn
Drive & Debrief
Bake & Bond.

Visit #ChatStarter website

Bipolar Assist

Help develop a new program aimed at improving the wellbeing of friends and family of people with bipolar disorder.

Does someone close to you have bipolar disorder? Are you interested in finding ways to live well while supporting them with this condition?

What is BipolarASSIST?
You are invited to join a study that aims to see if the family and friends of someone with bipolar disorder find the new resource acceptable, useful, easy to use, relevant to their needs and whether it should be improved.

What will you be asked to do?
You will be asked to participate in the online resource and complete:

Three monthly feedback surveys
One final feedback interview at the conclusion of the study

If you would like to be considered for participation in the study please contact:

The BipolarASSIST team
Phone: 0459 965 545
Email: bipolarcarers@deakin.edu.au