You can read the latest issue of the Mental Health Carers Voice April 2024 Update

MHCV Team Update

Hi valued carers,

Welcome to the chilly months! We hope you’re all keeping warm and well as the heaters start turning on around Canberra. April has proved to be a month filled with learning and collaboration for us at MHCV.

• We attended crucial meetings, including the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) and Mental Health Alliance and the Mental Health, Justice Health, and Alcohol & Drug Services (MHJHADS) Governance committee. We gained valuable insights into changes within Canberra Health Services and the broader sector, while also ensuring that carer needs were considered in these changes.
• We reviewed several abstracts as part of our membership in theMHS Conference 2024 Local Organising Committee, giving us a deeper understanding of the current topics of interest in mental health care.
• We’ve conducted carer awareness training at Gungahlin Community Health Centre and Calvary John James Private Hospital. These sessions equipped staff across all healthcare settings with the tools to recognise, value, and include carers.

We were also very excited to attend the theMHS Forum 2024 in Sydney in the last month. With the forum theme being about a mental health system that embraces family, kin, whanau & community, how could we not be excited? As expected the Forum served as an incredibly informative platform, shedding light on the progression of carer rights and their recognition in international arenas like the United Nations and World Health Organisation. We gained insights into how carer inclusive practices have been embedded in mental health systems both locally and internationally to ensure better outcomes for all involved. We were particularly inspired by the innovative mental health models presented, such as Victoria’s Connect Centres, Denver’s community-led Caring for Denver initiative, and New Zealand’s Farmstrong program. These models demonstrated how community-based and culturally sensitive approaches can not only support carers and consumers, but also foster stronger, more resilient communities. Ahead of the Carer Forum we will be hosting in August, this event proved to be a great opportunity to make connections and exchange knowledge. We’re also keen to take these fresh ideas and perspectives back to our advocacy work here in the ACT.

As always, your voice is vital to the work we do and if you have anything you wish to share please feel free to contact us via email mhcarers@carersact.org.au.

All the best,

Catherine Joseph and Catherine Vonarx,

The Mental Health Carers Voice Team