Today I’m wearing my best purple attire for Wear It Purple Day. An international day to raise awareness of the experiences of LGBTIQA+ young people, to demonstrate allyship, remind them there is hope and acceptance, and they have every right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming.

The 2022 theme ‘Still me, still human’ encapsulates the message of humanity, honesty, integrity and authenticity when discussing all diverse identities within the LGBTQIA+ community.

The ever-increasing public attack on rights is driving up the already staggering statistics of poor mental health and suicide rates amongst LGBTQIA+ people. Watching debates and hearing the rhetoric chosen by news organisations or politicians on the rights of those in our LGBTQIA+ community (e.g. debates on Religious Discrimination Bills, the same sex marriage survey, trans and gender diverse inclusion in sports, just to list a few) has had negative impacts on the health, wellbeing and safety of those in our LGBTQIA+ community. ‘Still me, still human’ reminds us to cut through the dehumanising labels, the stigma, the news story, and to focus on the humans at the heart of the matter. Everybody deserves to be treated with respect and dignity – it is crucial for our mental health. Today (and every day) is a day to tell our LGBTIQA+ young people; we see you, we hear you and we care about you. You are not alone.

Looking to the Mental Health Australia calendar for the next three months, we have much to look forward to and plenty to get on with.

As you may have noticed from my diary updates, engagement with the new federal government is gathering pace and it is great to see important issues getting traction.

Coming up:

• On 31 August, we will be holding a member-exclusive webinar launching the research piece: Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italian, Turkish and Vietnamese Communities. The research was conducted by Whereto Research, commissioned by Embrace and funded by the National Mental Health Commission
• On Thursday 8 September, we will be welcoming the CEOs of our member organisations to our 2022 Mental Health Australia Parliamentary Advocacy Day at Parliament House in Canberra – to be launched by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP
  
• On 14 & 28 September, we’ll be holding a Members Policy Hub on Employment and Mental Health
• On 19-22 September, the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project will be holding face-to-face training and a two day workshop with the Embrace lived Experience Group in Hobart
• 10 October is World Mental Health Day. The theme for this year’s Mental Health Australia campaign extends our call to, ‘Look after your mental health, Australia’ and focuses on “Awareness, Belonging and Connection”. More on how to partner with the campaign next month.
• Mental Health Australia holds its Board Director Election in October
• Our annual Grace Groom Memorial Oration will be held in November, along with a Member Policy Forum and Annual General Meeting.
• We will also be scheduling a Members Policy Hub on housing and mental health, a Psychosocial Summit, and a peer workforce roundtable … watch this space.

Thank you for all that you do.

We look forward to working with our members and other stakeholders on these important issues as we continue to advocate for systemic change.

PS. If your organisation is not already a member of Mental Health Australia, and are interested in membership – contact Hannah at Hannah.Carrigy@mhaustralia.org or find out more on our Memberships page.

Key stakeholders with connections across their community play an important role in helping to get translated information about staying protected from COVID 19 out to those who need it.
Help protect your community by sharing the resources in this pack across your networks and your social channels. Through your help and support, we can ensure the community stays informed about COVID 19 through official sources.

Over the past two weeks, the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum convened a series of workshops on behalf of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The aim of the workshops was to hear directly from participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) living with psychosocial disability about how to improve access and planning within the NDIS. These workshops have now concluded and de-identified transcripts will be provided to the NDIA to inform future access and planning to the Scheme.

Thank you for spreading the word, we were overwhelmed (in a good way) by the level of interest and the generosity of what people shared.

The negative impacts of financial and mental health challenges can accumulate over time, and can be reciprocally reinforcing, leading to downward spirals and entrenched issues. Downward spirals can be unexpected, and can progress more quickly and be more difficult to halt or reverse than the people experiencing them initially anticipate.

Around 15,500 people living with disability will have access to better quality employment services and a greater chance of finding a long-term job following a performance assessment of the Disability Employment Services program.

Shocking new findings that 3.6 million Australians have been subject to emotional abuse by a partner show the urgent need for national focus on this extremely important issue.

Every Australian, no matter where they live, can now make a free phone call to the national Head to Health support line where they will receive advice, assessment, and referral to mental health services that best suit their needs.

Governments fund non-government agencies to support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. These agencies provide specialised services to target groups as well as general homelessness support services. The AIHW receives and aggregates data from around 1,700 specialist homelessness services agencies across Australia on a monthly basis. This report presents monthly data on the number of clients receiving services. 

The Governor-General His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) has issued Letters Patent establishing a Royal Commission into the former debt assessment and recovery scheme commonly known as Robodebt. The inquiry will examine, among other things: The establishment, design and implementation of the scheme; who was responsible for it; why they considered Robodebt necessary; and, any concerns raised regarding the legality and fairness; The handling of concerns raised about the scheme, including adverse decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; The outcomes of the scheme, including the harm to vulnerable individuals and the total financial cost to government; and Measures needed to prevent similar failures in public administration. 

A review of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) pricing has today been launched to cement the future of quality, innovative housing for eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants

The Department of Health has issued its next COVID-19 Disability Provider Alert. This provider alert along with other resources and information about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is available from a dedicated web page for disability service providers on the Department of Health website. This page will be updated regularly.

People living in West Australia can now access a new telephone and online service providing tailored mental health support to people living with complex mental health and trauma.
Developed and delivered by national mental health organisation SANE, this new service involves professional phone and online counselling and one-on-one contact with a peer support worker, as well as access to community forums and a range of therapeutic activities designed to support recovery and help participants learn the skills to better manage their mental health.

The Tasmanian Government is working to reduce suicide rates in Tasmania and is seeking the views of the Tasmanian community to inform the development of the third Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Strategy, which is expected to be released by the end of the year.

A new and exciting partnership between the Department of Health and the University of Tasmania has been made official with the signing of a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding to create a Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation.

The Centre will facilitate engagement and collaboration between the Department of Health’s Statewide Mental Health Services and the University across a range of areas, including workforce development, training and education, research and development, and policy and advocacy.

Speech Pathology Week seeks to promote the speech pathology profession and the work done by speech pathologists with the 1.2 million Australians who have a communication disability.

Frontline services in NSW will receive a share of $6.55 million to fund specialist workers to support children and teenagers living in women’s refuges.

Ex-service organisations and community groups can now apply for funding to help host events promoting healthy eating as part of this year’s Veterans’ Health Week.

Early Bird Registrations are open for The AASW Mental Health Social Work and Contemporary Practice Symposium 2022 – Online. Held on 17 November 2022, this one-day, online Symposium will explore mental health and contemporary practice from a social work perspective.

Keynote speakers and panel discussions will bring lively and thought-provoking debate to contemporary practice. A rich and rewarding program will be offered, giving attendees practical learnings and take-aways.

Visit the conference site for more information, Early Bird Registrations are now open.

Suicide Prevention Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Conference 2023 will be held over 1 – 4 May in Canberra. This event provides a gateway to unite suicide prevention experts to showcase evidence-based solutions and robust discussion, focused on solutions for saving lives.

Delivered by one of Blue Knot Foundation’s most experienced trainers, Dragan Zan Wright is a transgender psychotherapist and trainer who has worked extensively in the fields of Gender Diversity, Complex Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care and Practice.

Scheduled on 7 September 2022 via Zoom, this experiential one-day professional development training goes beyond ‘standard’ LGBTIQ diversity training. This masterclass fosters the knowledge and skills to work competently and confidently with the growing number of transgender people accessing therapeutic and other services. It explores the intersectionality of complex trauma, discrimination, and minority stress to build understanding on how these factors impact the health of transgender people.

Black Dog Institute is pleased to announce its Summit on Self-Harm to be held on
Thursday, 10 November 2022 at Doltone House in Sydney.

This full-day event will bring together leading international researchers, clinicians and lived experience experts to provide and share insights about self-harm.