Embrace Multicultural Mental Health News October 2020

Dear friends and stakeholders

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create change and challenges for many, Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace Project) has had to rethink the way we engage with you, our stakeholders. Our aim continues to provide a national focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

This has provided us to rethink what we want to achieve and how we can continue to progress this important work. As always, our Project Alliance partners FECCA and NEDA have assisted us in this reorientation.

Whilst we have been unable to travel or meet with people face to face, our engagement with consumers, carers and service providers has not be curtailed. Our CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group met via videoconference and discussed upcoming activities including our Community Video Forums being held in every state and territory. These forums provide us with a unique opportunity to hear directly from multicultural community leaders about mental health issues in their communities and to link them with multilingual resources the Embrace Project offers.

Our Stakeholder Group also recently met via teleconference in another opportunity to hear what was happening in the sector and to share about the impact of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (the Framework). We are excited to share that the Framework currently has around 900 registered users, representing over 200 organisations across Australia. Our team has been busy contacting each of these registered users to offer support and guidance in implementing the Framework amongst mental health services.

October is Mental Health Month, with Saturday 10 October being celebrated as World Mental Health Day. As part of our Mental Health Month activities The Embrace Project has been working with SBS Media to develop a media campaign in 20 languages. The campaign will be shown online and through radio broadcasts in October, and features members of our CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group. We hope that this initiative will help break down stigma surrounding mental health and prompt people to visit our website.

As part of Mental Health Month, we also encourage you to visit Look after your Mental Health, Australia where you can make your own promise on how you will look after your own mental health.

See below for more Embrace Project highlights.

Warm regards,

The Embrace Project team

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health
P (02) 6285 3100
E multicultural@mhaustralia.org
W www.embracementalhealth.org.au

Project Highlights

Good Practice Guide: Working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health has published a Good Practice Guide for working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

The purpose of this guide is to provide information to Australian mental health services, practitioners, Primary Health Networks and others on what good practice looks like in working effectively with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It is intended to provide practical advice and guidance for mental health service providers.

Click here to access the guide!

Community Video Forums

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace Project) will be holding free video forums for community organisations and leaders in the community in each state and territory to provide resources and information on how to address mental health in your community.

The Community Video Forums will provide you with the opportunity to learn about the Embrace Project, receive information and resources to address mental health, hear from local community members and local service providers, and ask questions and discuss mental health in a safe environment.

Click here for more information and to register

Translated Resources and Webinars

Translated resources for community members

The first lot of translated resources the Embrace Project has developed for leaders in the community and community members are now available on our website.

The resources have been developed with input and guidance from an advisory group made up of members of the CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group.

The resources are available in the following languages:

Arabic, Assyrian, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, Chinese Simplified, Dari, Dinka, Farsi/Persian, Greek, Hazaragi, Italian, Karen, Nepali, Punjabi, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil and Vietnamese

Stay tuned for more translated resources coming soon!

Find the resources here

Webinars

The Embrace Project has conducted three webinars on the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (the Framework), providing in-depth looks into:

Service Module 1: Planning Strategically to Meet Multicultural Needs
Service Module 2: Developing Safe, Quality & Culturally Responsive Services
Service Module 3: Working Together to Promote Mental Health in Multicultural Communities

Our next webinar is on 14 October 2020 on Service Module 4: Building a Culturally Responsive Mental Health Workforce

Watch previous webinars here

Register for the webinar here

Connect with us on social media

The Embrace Project is now on social media and we would love to connect with you. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube - or search for us @EmbraceMultiMH.

02 6285 3100

9-11 Napier Close, Deakin ACT 2600

multicultural@mhaustralia.org

www.embracementalhealth.org.au