Newsletters / Bulletins

In her acceptance speech on Tuesday evening, new Australian of the Year Grace Tame said “This year and beyond my focus is on empowering survivors and education as a primary means of prevention. It starts with conversation. We’re all welcome at this table. Communication breeds understanding and understanding is the foundation of progress. Lived experience informs structural and social change. When we share we heal”.

The Flannel Flower was chosen as symbol for Mental Health Australia because like many native Australian plants, it needs to be adaptable and enduring in order to survive. Traits that certainly sum up how many of us have addressed the challenges of 2020. A unique year indeed, and a year where we’ve seen the momentum for mental health reform build like never before.

Sadly it’s not hard to find stories, and lived experiences, of brave people who have been bereaved by suicide, or who have struggled with their own despair and suicidal thoughts. But it is always hard to hear them.

I really appreciate that in Australia, we are reminded to attend to particular aspects of life and community through the emergence of special days or weeks….