Latest News
MHiMA Christmas office closing times 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
The MHiMA office will be closed for the Christmas holidays from Thursday 25th December 2014 and will reopen again on Monday 5th January 2015.
We wish everyone a safe and happy break!
Categories: information; MHiMA project news
Friday, November 21, 2014
For the latest issue of the MHiMA e-newsletter, please click here.
Categories: communications and media; information; MHiMA project news
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) has joined forces with some of Australia’s leading businesses, sporting bodies and NGO’s to support the “Racism. It stops with me” campaign.
Our organisation has committed to preventing racism by pledging to undertake activities in support of the campaign.
“The Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) project is pleased to be part of, and to support, this important campaign. Racism is never acceptable and we need to do all we can to eliminate it from our society” Harry Minas, MHiMA Chair.
Research from 2011 shows that one in seven Australians say they have experienced discrimination because of their colour or background. This figure appears to have been increasing in recent years.
Research has also shown that 70 percent of people agree that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people are prejudiced against each other.
The national “Racism. It stops with me” campaign, which is being led by the Australian Human Rights Commission, has been developed by a partnership of government and non-government agencies and will run until 2015.
For more information about the campaign go to: http://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/
Or follow the campaign on Twitter @ItStopsWithMe.
Categories: blog; communications and media; community engagement; MHiMA project news; news; partnerships.
MHiMA CaLD Carer and Consumer Participation - Raising Our Voices Bridging the Divide to Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Care, multicultural mental health and wellbeing conference
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
MHiMA CaLD Carer and Consumer Participation - Raising Our Voices Bridging the Divide to Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Care, multicultural mental health and wellbeing conference by Ãine Tierney
Presentations by consumer and carer advocates were a feature of the recent Raising Our Voices Bridging the Divide to Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Care in Canberra on Friday the 7th November 2014. The conference was focused on multicultural mental health and wellbeing and involved speakers who came from across Australia to share their professional expertise and lived experience. The conference provided opportunities for delegates to share their stories, put questions directly to speakers and to raise their voices about a range of issues that affect health, mental health and well-being for multicultural, migrant and refugee communities.
Launch of ‘Our Voices’ – Stories of carers from migrant and refugee backgrounds
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Launch of ‘Our Voices’ – Stories of carers from migrant and refugee backgrounds by Ãine Tierney
I was invited to attend the launch of this wonderful initiative on Friday the 31st in Melbourne. I was joined by two members of the MHiMA National CaLD Consumer and Carer Working Groups who had been involved in the project.
I was very moved by the five short films that make up Our Voices. These stories capture the unique experiences and lives of five carers from migrant and refugee backgrounds who come from Afghani, Egyptian, Somali, Turkish and Vietnamese communities. The short films in original languages and with subtitles in English, document the day-to-day caring experience of caring for a family member with a mental illness which the carers tell in their own words. The film footage includes exquisite charcoal drawings used as a pictorial account - evolving as each carer’s story progresses. I was struck by how each of the carers sought and found support for their family member and themselves and spoke openly about their feelings and concerns.
The project was a collaboration involving nine organisations in Victoria, the carers, and their communities. Our Voices is an incredible resource for carers, their families and anyone working in multicultural, migrant and refugee health and mental health.
The DVD’s and narrative are available in original language (Arabic, Vietnamese, Turkish, Dari and Somali), voice dubbing into the five community languages and English subtitles with English voice dubbing from VTMH – 03 – 9288 300. Links to the films can be found through: www.vtmh.org.au.MHiMA CALD consumer and carer working groups
18 April 2013
Earlier this year, the MHiMA project convened two working groups, the MHiMA Consumer Working Group and the MHiMA Carer Working Group, comprised of representatives from each state and territory. This is in line with MHiMA’s commitment to ensuring that consumer and carer perspectives and expertise are embedded across the work of the project. Here is an overview of how the groups were established and what the groups have achieved so far. More information about the groups, the terms of reference under which they meet and their activities will be made available on the MHiMA website shortly. This project is led by MHiMA consortium member, the University of South Australia.
Selecting the representatives
The positions are held by individuals from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and age ranges. Working group members were recruited for their lived experience of mental ill health or caring for someone with mental ill health and the impact on personal and family life of migrating to and settling in Australia. Group members’ capacity to harness their experiences and that of others around them in the interest of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities was also core to their selection for MHiMA’s working groups. The selection process was intensive, taking several months to complete and resulting in 12 people being selected for the groups – six in each group.
We currently have four vacancies across the groups: in Tasmania and the Northern Territory for the MHiMA Consumer Working Group, and in the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia for the MHiMA Carer Working Group. More information about a second call for candidates to fill these vacancies will be appearing on the MHiMA website shortly.
Meeting for the first time
In early February, working group members participated in an induction process held over two days in Sydney. Almost all (11 of the 12) working group members were able to participate in the induction day. The sessions provided them with an opportunity to meet each other, and the facilitators who were some of the MHiMA project staff members. Consumer Working Group members were also introduced to the MHiMA Executive who were meeting nearby. Carer Working Group members had the opportunity to meet and discuss the project with the MHiMA project’s Executive Officer.
The range of activities being undertaken within the MHiMA project were outlined and group members had an opportunity to consider how they could contribute to and extend this work. They also discussed the range of organisations and networks with which they are associated in their respective states or territories.
Participants shared their perspectives on what has been achieved and the work that still needs to be done to better meet the mental health needs of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The induction days ended with participants offering their reflections on the day, and the evaluations were extremely positive. Some of their reflections included:
“Happy to be involved and I’ll do my best from experience” (Carer Working Group Member)
“Excellent! Presenters very nice – participants all encouraged to participate in dialogue – made the day most productive!” (Consumer Working Group Member)
There was strong agreement that while it has been necessary for practical reasons to convene separate groups, it would be beneficial to create opportunities to bring the consumer and carer groups together from time to time.
Getting on with the work
Each working group will usually meet separately on a bimonthly basis. It is anticipated that most meetings will be via teleconference link up. Additional meetings will be convened as required. The groups have already participated in discussions regarding the development of the new Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia.
For more information about the groups or consumer and carer participation in the MHiMA project, please contact Amy Baker, Project Officer at: [email protected] (08) 8302 2643.
