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eNews  |  June 2019
 
At the launch of the Redcliffe Safe Space
 

Shifting minds budget initiatives

Hi everyone

The Queensland Budget delivered some good news for mental health and suicide prevention.

The Treasurer announced a commitment of $80.1 million for cross-government projects to be delivered under the Shifting Minds Suicide Prevention Flagship program.

This included $62 million to fund a suite of suicide-prevention initiatives and $6.9 million for Indigenous mental health and wellbeing, in a positive start towards reducing the tragic number of suicides among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

The funding complements our current work developing a renewed suicide prevention plan for Queensland, with the input of key stakeholders who attended a state-wide workshop with us recently.

We’re continuing consultation with a broad range of stakeholders as we work to drive genuine change through the four broad themes of building resilience, reducing vulnerability, responding to crisis, and working together.

During the last month I have been approached by many agencies providing both positive and negative feedback about Queensland Health’s Mental Health Community Support Services (MH CSS) procurement outcome.

I am very committed to supporting the long-term viability of the non-government community support sector in Queensland and am keen to ensure that changes to our system and policies are managed to the benefit of our consumers and their families.

It is critical that influencing factors like NDIS and the procurement of service providers is managed with consumers at the centre, and that we have a clear vision and agreed principles to guide us.  I have offered my support in this process to find a way forward which will focus on the growth, development and sustainability of the sector into the future.  

Shifting minds forum

The first of our three Shifting minds forums was held in Brisbane on 6 June, with representative from more than 50 organisations coming together to focus on whole-of-system improvement.

I’m in Cairns today (Thursday 27 June) for the second forum in the series, on the theme of Invest to Save. See details of the final event in Brisbane below.

NAIDOC week

We at the QMHC are looking forward to celebrating NAIDOC Week —7-14 July — with the theme ‘Voice, Treaty, Truth – Let’s work together for a shared future’.

The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DATSIP) has asked us all to consider what voice, treaty and truth mean to us. I’m happy to share my response:

As Queensland’s Mental Health Commissioner, it means creating a supported, safe environment for truth-telling, as well as ensuring we prioritise social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

If you live in or are visiting Queensland, enjoy our beautiful winter, and remember to look out for each other.

Ivan Frkovic
Queensland Mental Health Commissioner 
 

Better Futures grants announced

Four Better Futures grants totalling $740,000 have been launched to help some of the most vulnerable Queenslanders.

These diverse initiatives are designed to improve the mental health, wellbeing and social inclusion of people with lived experience of mental illness or problematic substance use, or those who have been affected by suicide.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles says the Better Futures grants are focused on reducing the impact of homelessness and unemployment.

“Having a home, a job and social supports are all essential to recovery and long-term mental health and wellbeing,” Mr Miles said.

“People experiencing mental health or other difficulties can struggle to focus on recovery if they are homeless, or if they can’t access the right training, supports and pathways to get a job.

“These four initiatives offer innovative solutions to complex issues that span the employment, housing and mental health systems, adding to our traditional service models.”The Better Futures Grants initiatives align with the strategic priorities outlined in Shifting minds.

Read about the grant recipients.

Wheel of Wellbeing workshop

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Wheel of wellbeing workshop

A one-day Introduction to Wheel of Wellbeing (WoW) workshop was hosted by the Ipswich Housing Service Centre this month. Based on positive psychology, WoW is a flexible framework for understanding and promoting the six universal themes associated with good mental health and wellbeing, including body, mind, spirit, people, place and planet.

This workshop provided an introduction to the WoW framework, including the theory underpinning the framework, and experiential learning through practical activities.

The session was co-facilitated by Tanya Scott and Regina Mullins from Department of Housing and Karen Conlon from QMHC Commission staff as part of their verification to become WoW practitioners.

Learn more about WoW and its combination of positive psychology and neuroscience.

Queensland Mental Health Week 2019 grants open

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Community grants up to $2,500 for events and activities supporting Queensland Mental health Week are now available.

The week, which runs from 5 to 13 October, is designed to promote community mental health and wellbeing, increase understanding of mental illness, address stigma, and foster inclusion for people living with mental illness, their families and carers. The theme for 2019 is take time for mental health.

The grant program is being managed on behalf of the Queensland Mental Health Commission by the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health (QAMH).

Alliance Acting Chief Executive Jacklyn Whybrow said Mental Health Week events had a serious education and awareness purpose but were also an expression of diverse and inclusive communities.

“Queensland Mental Health Week events help bring people together and contribute to building mentally healthier environments for individuals, families and the whole community,” Ms Whybrow said.

Applications for QMHW grants close on Monday 8 July. To apply for a Queensland Mental Health Week grant, go to www.qldmentalhealthweek.org.au
Find out more
Shifting minds forum panel (L-R): Ivan Frkovic - Queensland Mental Health Commissioner, Dr Chris Sarra - Director-General Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Rebecca Lang - CEO Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies, Gabrielle Villic - Director, Social Inclusion and Recovery at Metro South Health, Caroline McVicar - Youth Advisory Council.

Shifting minds forums 

The first Shifting minds forum was hosted in Brisbane on 6 June to explore whole-of-system improvement.

Representatives from more than 50 organisations contributed to thought-provoking discussion about the importance of working together to collectively shift the system. The key issues and themes diagram captures the input from participants on the day.

The final forum will be held in Brisbane on Thursday 18 July. Be quick to register, seats are almost sold out.
Register now

Alcohol and Other Drug Plan consultations are underway

Shifting minds includes a commitment to oversee the development of a renewed whole-of-government approach to Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD).

The plan will support Queensland’s commitments under the National Drug Strategy 2017-2026 and its sub-plans including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Drug Strategy 2014-2019.

The Commission will lead development of the AOD plan, taking a whole-of-government and cross-sectoral approach.

This plan is a priority project for the Commission, along with a renewed Suicide Prevention Plan, and will focus on actions designed to prevent and reduce the adverse impact of alcohol and other drugs on the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders.  
At the launch of the Redcliffe Safe Space
Stretch2Engage workshop to review the framework and learnings from the pilot program to date.
Stretch2Engage Engaging Leaders workshop
A Stretch2Engage workshop was hosted recently to share the concepts and key elements of the Stretch2Engage framework, as well as the learnings from the pilot program to date.

Stretch2Engage is a framework to guide efforts to increase and improve engagement of lived experience in the mental health and alcohol and other drugs public and non-government sectors.

It calls for a different approach to how organisations think about engagement and aims to precipitate cultural change so that engagement practices become core business. This is particularly important to organisations in a contested marketplace under the NDIS.

Attendees included those who participated in the development of the framework and representatives from the pilot sites at Belmont Hospital, Karakan, Metro South HHS, QuiHN and the Toowoomba Consortia (Darling Downs HHS, Toowoomba Clubhouse and Sunrise Way.
Find out more

Advisory Council Sunshine Coast visit

Members of the Queensland Mental Health and Drug Advisory Council will visit the Sunshine Coast from 2-3 July 2019, accompanied by Commissioner Ivan Frkovic and Executive Director Dr Leanne Geppert.

The visit will include an Alcohol and Other Drugs networking workshop for key government, non-government and community networks and representatives to discuss emerging whole-of-government reform directions and priorities for reducing the impact of problematic alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use. 

During the two-day visit, the Council will also visit the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service and several local non-government organisations.  A local Council meeting will also be convened and will include a panel discussion with locals who have a mental health lived experience.

For further information call 1300 855 945.
 

Lend your voice and sing out for mental health awareness

On Saturday 27 July, thousands of people from across Queensland and Australia will sing together to raise their voices in support of positive men’s mental health.

The mass choir, led by the renowned Dr Jonathon Welch AM, will sing the powerful anthem ‘Help is on its way’ with special guests Glenn Shorrock, Busby Marou, The McClymonts and Travis Collins.

The concert will be live-streamed, so you can host your own community concert and participate in this unique choral experience. Lend your voice to this national choral initiative fostering a dialogue around positive men's mental health.

Find out more and get involved
 

Australian Winter School conference, 25-26 July

The Winter School conference is a key event in the Alcohol and Other Drug sector calendar. It provides an avenue to hear the most recent research and best practice, as well as how it relates to responding to individuals, families and communities affected by problematic alcohol and other drug use. It also provides an opportunity to network, collaborate and debate.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Drugs: Pleasure, Medicine or Poison?”.

The Queensland Mental Health Commission is a proud sponsor of the 2019 Australian Winter School conference, which is a vital learning and networking opportunity and supports reforms for an evidence-based system.

Speakers at this year’s conference include:
  • Beau Kilmer, from the RAND Drug Policy Research Centre from the United States
  • Jenny Valentish, a journalist who has published a book on her lived experience with problematic alcohol and other drug use and treatment
  • Ivan Frkovic, Queensland Mental Health Commissioner
  • Dr Jackie Huggins, the co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.
We hope you can attend this important AOD sector learning event and work together to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Register to attend
 

AIHW report released

The AIHW report Disability support services: services provided under the National Disability Agreement 2017-18 is now available.

While the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is expected to largely replace the current provision of services to people with disability under the National Disability Agreement (NDA), many users of disability services were still receiving support under the NDA in 2015–16.

Key findings outlined in the report include:
  • around 332,000 people used disability support services
  • the average age of service users was 35
  • around 72% of service users were aged under 50, 22% were aged 50–64 and 6% were aged 65 and over
  • 43% of service users had an intellectual or learning disability, 42% had a physical or diverse disability, 29% had a psychiatric disability and 18% had a sensory or speech disability
  • almost 30% of service users aged 15 and over were not in the labour force, and of those in the labour force, more than 67% were unemployed
  • 66% of service users had an informal carer, most often their mother (73%), and around 1 in 8 service users (12%) had an informal carer who was aged 65 and over
  • around 3,500 NDA service users transitioned to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) during the year.
Read the report in full
 

NAIDOC education resources support teachers and communities

A suite of online education resources will help tell the story of Australia’s Indigenous history in classrooms around the country, bringing to life the culture and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
 
The National NAIDOC Committee has released new resources to support teachers and local communities build knowledge and celebrate Australia’s Indigenous culture.

The resources have been developed by Dr Lynette Riley, Wiradjuri & Gamilaroi woman, NAIDOC Committee member and Senior Lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at University of Sydney.
 
Dr Riley said the resources are designed to enable students and community members to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures and to support young Indigenous children to build self-esteem through seeing their identity, culture and history reflected in the classroom.  
 
“Education is central to all we do in ensuring truth telling and making sure all people have the real facts about Aboriginal people’s cultures and histories of contact in Australia,” Dr Riley said.
 
The teaching guides aim to address the need to support communities and teachers wishing to learn and teach Indigenous history and culture, but who are not often in a position to create this content, or connect with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
 
Download the resources from the NAIDOC website
 

Nightsafe Centre opens in Fortitude Valley

The Safe Night Precinct Support Services received a boost of $3.3 million in the Queensland Budget, with the newest NightSafe Rest and Recovery Centre opening in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley on 17 June.

The program provides a safe space, with chaplains watching out for revellers under the influence of drugs or alcohol and those with mental health needs. There are now 15 NightSafe spaces across Queensland.

Read more about the new recovery centre
 

Sponsorships


Looking to extend the reach of your mental health, drug or alcohol awareness event, conference or project? Sponsorships up to $10,000 are available. Next round closes 31 August. 
Learn more

Sector grants


The Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) publishes a comprehensive list of sector grants.
Learn more

Events


Check out the latest major sector events, hosted by the Commission and partner organisations.

Learn more