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Welcome to the April edition of the TSPCN news!
In this issue:
- Network Update
- Have Your Say
- Member News
- Events, Opportunities & Training
- Grant Opportunities
- Resources & Support
A lot has been happening in suicide prevention since the last edition of the newsletter. It’s so great to be able to start with a truly inspiring event – the 2024 LiFE Awards. It was a privilege to be involved in recognising and celebrating the incredible work being done by individuals, groups, communities and workplaces. Congratulations to the winners and nominees and thank you for the important contribution you make to suicide prevention in Tasmania. Next year we’ll be holding the 20th LiFE Awards so it will be an extra special event. It’s never too early, so I’d encourage you to keep an eye out for contributions that could be nominated.
Following on from the LiFE Awards, we held our annual Suicide Prevention Forum. The theme for this year’s Forum, Championing Change, provided a valuable platform to share best practices and explore innovative approaches at the local and national level. The forum also fostered collaboration and discussion on how we can continue progressing suicide prevention in Tasmania.
Across both events, it was amazing to see such a strong commitment to suicide prevention, a willingness to work together and share ideas. Your contribution to the TSPCN and its activities is greatly appreciated. I also wanted to take a moment to again thank Aaron, Beth, Jas, Kristy and Tamara for the outstanding job they did in delivering two incredible events.
We’d really like to maintain this level of connection and engagement throughout the year. If you have content for the newsletter, ideas about speakers for meetings or know of a community who might be interested in developing a Community Action Plan, we’d love to hear from you.
Looking forward to seeing you at the next online TSPCN meeting on 7 May from 11am – 1pm.
I hope you enjoy the Autumn 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 online from 11am-1pm on Tuesday 7 May.
We are excited to have the following guest speakers sharing at the meeting:
- Mindframe - who will talk about safe language to do with suicide, mental health concerns, self-harm and alcohol and other drugs.
- Live4Life - who will be sharing news about their work on the East Coast.
- Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Directorate - who will share an update on their work.
- We are also excited to be joined by some of the recent LiFE Awards winners to share what they have been up to.
We hope to see you there!
Interested in what was discussed at the previous meeting in Ulverstone? You can read previous meeting minutes on the Suicide Prevention Tas website.
The 2024 Tasmanian LiFE Awards honoured Tasmanians' dedication to suicide prevention, showcasing their passion and commitment. This year, the awards marked the 19th anniversary, receiving a remarkable 30 nominations across five categories. The winners were revealed at Crowne Plaza in Hobart, bringing together community members, service providers, and local government representatives to acknowledge and applaud the life-affirming efforts being undertaken.
We’re pleased to share the winners from each category below and hope you enjoyed reading about all the wonderful nominees on the TSPCN Facebook page.
🌟 Best Practice in a Workplace - The Kingsway Barbershop
🌟 Communities in Action - Eureka Clubhouse
🌟 Innovative Practice and Research - Laura Grattidge
🌟 Outstanding Contribution by a Young Person - Meriem Daoui
🌟 Outstanding Contribution to Suicide Prevention - Jane Austin
🌟 Exceptional Contribution to Suicide Prevention in Tasmania - CORES
Start thinking about your nominations for the 20th LiFE Awards, they’ll be here before we know it.
This year's annual Suicide Prevention forum, themed "Championing Change," took place at Crowne Plaza in Hobart on March 22nd. Bringing together experts in suicide prevention, mental health service providers, government representatives, community members, and individuals with lived experience, the event aimed to deepen understanding, address issues, and contribute to solutions for reducing suicide rates and advocating for change in Tasmania.
The forum featured workshops and keynote speakers, providing attendees with refreshed knowledge, practical skills, and insights into the future of suicide prevention in Tasmania. Participants had the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers, including Clare Kinsella from Suicide Prevention Australia, Tash Cloak and Mitch McPherson from SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY, Dr. Philippa Ditton-Phare from Everymind, and Al Brown and Marcus McCrae from the Mental Health, Alcohol, and Drug Directorate.
Thank you to all who came along and participated in a great day of learning and sharing together. We'd love to hear from you if you have any ideas on what you'd like to see for the 2025 Suicide Prevention Forum. You can add your thoughts below using the button in the 'Have your say' section or by emailing us.
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Steven Bradbury has a unique story of resilience, overcoming adversity and perseverance. Stronger Together in Circular Head (STiCH) were excited to be able to bring him to Smithton for the ‘STiCHED Up with Steven Bradbury’ event on Friday 19 April.
‘STiCHED Up’ events are designed to bring community together to laugh, connect, share stories and support each other. Steven Bradbury was the perfect man for the job. Sharing his journey as a young ice skater in sunny Brisbane, bouncing back from horrific injuries to becoming the ‘last man standing’ to win Australia’s first winter Olympic gold medal. Steven had 130 people in stitches (not the literal type) as well as thinking about goal setting and sharing our knowledge with each other.
Circular Head Council gave a short presentation on The Right Place which they have begun implementing in the Circular Head Community. The Right Place focuses on connecting local people with health and wellbeing services at a community level. Businesses and organisations undergo training to provide them with skills to listen and then find and refer to local services.
STiCH was fortunate to get a Resilience and Recovery grant from the Mental Health Council of Tasmania and support from Circular Head Council, Rotary Club of Smithton, Tall Timbers Tasmania and Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Community Network for the event. Information on suicide prevention and mental health was available around the room on the night.
The Minds Together suite of programs are now available for all Tasmanian families and friends who support someone experiencing mental health concerns or suicidal distress.
The programs are free, online and self-paced, aiming to build skills, knowledge and confidence for family and friends in their support role.
Backed by evidence and co-designed by family and friends with real-life experiences, the program offers practical ways to:
- Find out more about mental health concerns and suicidal distress
- Learn new strategies for supporting a family member or friend
- Strengthen coping and communication skills
- Reduce stress and worry
- Connect with other people supporting a family member or friend.
Talking about mental health can sometimes be uncomfortable, so Friday 21 June (shortest day of the year) let's come together to brave the cold... and brave the conversation for SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY’s annual community activation, Shorts Day!
The Tasmanian community is encouraged to wear their shorts (or Shorts Day merchandise) as a visual representation of the importance of mental health conversations and support.
Wear your shorts to school, work, your sporting club or just out and about. Additionally, you can register your involvement for Shorts Day and host a fundraiser (think morning teas, team meetings outdoors, shorts parades or even hairy leg competitions!).
Shorts Day for 2024 has been officially launched, with free registrations now open: www.shortsday.com.au
No matter where you are this Shorts Day… let YOUR shorts talk!
A Tasmanian lifeline is a telephone support service for Tasmanians of all ages who need someone to talk things through with or need someone to listen. We are a Tasmanian-focused and Tasmanian based service offering one-off or ongoing support for anyone having a tough time.
If you are experiencing loneliness, isolation, feeling anxious or overwhelmed you are not alone and can speak to one of our highly skilled support workers who can provide a friendly voice to reassure you.
You can call A Tasmanian Lifeline on 1800 98 44 34 from 8am to 8pm every day of the year or alternatively book a call back via our online booking form at atasmanianlifeline.com.au - You don’t have to go through a difficult situation alone.
COTA are hosting a Generations Connect Fun Day on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, from 10 am to 1 pm at the Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre.
This FREE event is open to anyone to attend, from all ages and walks of life. Activities include: face painting, henna tattoos, Slipstream Circus, photo booth, singing, drumming, cooking, jewellery making, arts and crafts, woodworking and seedling planting just to name a few. There will also be a number of organisations attending and running some more fun activities.
The forum will shed light on the intersectional challenges encountered by LGBTIQA+ individuals. It will include presentations from lived experience speakers, discussions on inclusive services, and updates on current research within the LGBTIQA+ community.
For more info contact Paige - paige@kentishrc.com.au or phone 6491 1552
Bridges Out of Poverty trainer, Nairn Walker presents Celebrating Capacity. A powerful training experience for those working with vulnerable people.
The two-day workshop will help you see economic inequity differently. It will assist you to understand and identify the capacity people have developed to negotiate life’s challenges. You will explore ways to harness this capacity to co-create with them a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.
Are you thinking of becoming a Peer Worker? Are you ready to learn how to utilise your unique lived experience to support others in their journey?
Are you a supervisor or leader looking to support a Lived Experience Peer Workforce in your organisation?
If either of these sounds like you, the LEx Training Hub offers a range of courses that can help you to develop your skills.
To learn more, and be kept up to date with upcoming training dates, please contact us via training@mhct.org or call 6224 9222
The LEx Training Hub is also available for Mental Health Council Tasmania members to use, for FREE (non-members at an introductory rate)
If your organisation is interested in using the space for:
- General meetings
- External training
- Events
Please complete a Meeting Room Hire Application, or contact us for more information.
Be a part of the exciting developments at the LEx Training Hub.
The Minds Do Matter exhibition is back in 2024 to promote creative conversations about mental health and well-being. The theme for this year is SHINE!
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. Entries open early May and you can subscribe on the website for updates.
International best practice tells us we can improve men's access to healthcare by developing male-friendly services. But what is a male-friendly service?
Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all-approach that will work for all men and boys. There are differences between groups of men, as well as differences within individual men themselves that need to be considered.
The Australian Men's Health Forum have developed a guide to male-friendly health services which identifies some of the key characteristics that are common to health initiatives that work for men.
Primary Health Tasmania have produced a new resource giving an overview of health data and information related to priority population groups.
The Snapshot of Priority Populations in Tasmania has a page of health data and information on each of the following groups of people, who sometimes have different health needs to the rest of the population:
- older people
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- LGBTIQA+ people
- people who are homeless
- people living with a disability
Create a Tasmania free from child sexual abuse. Join the conversation as victim-survivors and experts from around Australia come together in Hobart this 8th-9th May.
Join with Australia's leading therapeutic, academic, policy and lived expertise to forge tangible solutions. Over two transformative days, you'll gain exclusive insights into the latest research, innovative approaches and the developing strategy and action plan for Tasmania.
Laurel House and SASS are creating a nurturing environment for this event, complete with specialist support and safe spaces, to facilitate open dialogue and collaborative efforts. We are building on our collective efforts to raise awareness of the prevalence of child sexual abuse in Tasmania – a recent study found that 1 in 4 Australians experienced sexual abuse in childhood. Join us in helping to make one in 4, none in 4.
The event is suitable for victim-survivors, supporters, specialists and service providers. Your involvement is essential in our collective mission to safeguard Tasmania's children.
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:
You have what it takes to make a difference You don’t need to be an expert to ask, ‘are you OK?’. Listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them through.
MyState Foundation Grants Program
The MyState Foundation grants program supports not-for-profit organisations that work towards empowering the youth of Tasmania. Each year, they grant between $1,000 and $10,000 to eligible organisations; and to date, they have awarded over $2 million in grants to more than 120 not-for-profit organisations, for nearly 300 initiatives.
Applications close Friday 3 May 2024.
National Pies for Local Heroes Small Grants
Any registered Australian community group, sporting club or not-for-profit organisation can apply. National Pies will award a grant of $1,000 each month over the next 12 months, beginning in March 2024. They are also awarding a major grant of $10,000 at the end of the program.
Whether you need new boots for your footy club, art supplies for your painting group, a special trip funded, or something else entirely – they are keen to hear how they can help.
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
