Kaya Wanjoo

Hello and welcome to our May e-News edition.

We are currently in the Djeran Noongar season, represented by the colour green as it is the time of the year where the cooler weather begins.

We’ve have an extremely busy month at ConnectGroups with lots of activities happening in the same space and timeframe. This got me thinking about how we ‘connect’ and how those connections can help support us in what we do.

Recently, I attended a lecture on 40 years of research at the Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation (RPHRF). There, I had the great pleasure of listening to our Patron, Prof Lyn Beazley. Not quite on the same scale, but at ConnectGroups we undertake research too. The research mentioned in the article below is a good example of how we partner with other organisations and are ‘connected’. The ‘connection’ with the Foundation doesn’t stop there; the CEO Cate is a peer and a good friend. We regularly take time to connect and share ideas and opportunities. One such thing we shared recently was the importance of celebrating success.

Like us, RPHRF is 40 this year; what an amazing accomplishment to be actively connecting and empowering for so long. So this presented another opportunity for us to collaborate, and this time we did this with the McCusker Centre for Citizenship at the University of Western Australia. We were lucky to have an intern (Yenessa) who researched options on how best to celebrate our 40th year. Given that 40th anniversary is Ruby - Yenessa came up with a whole set of options and associated plans and the Ruby Red Gala ball is taking shape.

Without those connections, without research partners, without peers, and without sharing everything so generously then we wouldn’t be here to celebrate such a landmark event. We will share details of the event very soon, so watch out for the announcement.

And finally, in the wake of Mark McGowan's announcement earlier this week, ConnectGroups acknowledges and thanks him for his long-term service to WA as Premier, Treasurer, and Member for Rockingham, and we wish him all the best for the future.

The WA Government handed down the 2023-24 State Budget this month with a number of positive allocations to initiatives impacting Peer Support Groups and the community members they serve. While ConnectGroups is pleased to see the State Government working to address the needs of our vulnerable communities, we would have liked to see longer-term strategies to address the cost of living pressures.

As a Sector predominantly led by volunteers, the Peer Support Group community continues to struggle with operational costs, access to affordable venues, and retention of volunteers; issues that will only worsen as the cost of living continues to rise. ConnectGroups urges the State Government to identify and support strategies that alleviate financial pressures in the long-term, and to invest in these peer support initiatives which offer free community-based support and help to reduce the burden on our healthcare workforce.

ConnectGroups this month hosted its Alternatives to Suicide Forum and the launch of the Alt2Su groundbreaking research which was generously funded by Lotterywest. The research highlighted a peer supported approach to distress and mental health.

Forum participants were welcomed to country by the inimitable Sharon Wood-Kenney. We had Kerry Hawkins, Ellie Hodges and Amy Bertakis as Keynote Speakers; all shared their perspectives on the importance of research and how different approaches can only add to improving our knowledge and understanding while improving Mental Health outcomes. In her Keynote, Sharon also shared a very personal lived experience, this assisted in supporting the rationale for the research approach.

The research team from Curtin University highlighted key findings, including the importance of trust, community and lived experience leadership while highlighting that key to these recommendations is consideration of resourcing Alt2Su groups as a valued component of the wider mental health system, and that future funding models should consider making resources available for lived experience leadership, training and infrastructure.

It's National Volunteer Week - a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, let’s choose to create a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

Research shows large community support for the next steps in Australia’s reconciliation journey, including the Voice to Parliament, treaty making and truth-telling.

This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme urges all Australians to use their power, their words and their actions to create a better, more just Australia for all of us.

ConnectGroups had the pleasure of visiting the South West this month during National Volunteer Week, stopping in at Margaret River, Busselton and Bunbury to meet with Support Group leaders, deliver training, and learn about key challenges faced in the region. The road tour was conducted in partnership with the Shire of Augusta Margaret River, the City of Busselton, and the Busselton Dunsborough Volunteer Resource Centre.

South West groups indicated in consultations that they are facing similar issues to our metro groups, including challenges with volunteer recruitment and retention, marketing and promotion, skills shortages, and cost of living pressures. Additional issues raised in the South West included isolation, lack of accessible health and mental health support, a need for more connected and accessible transport, and a need for more activities for young people.

Thank you to those who met with us during our travels, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with South West councils, groups, organisations, and local champions to address these issues and support a thriving South West community.

This month saw the delivery of ConnectGroups' first Mandurah Peer Support Network meeting. Delivered in partnership with the City of Mandurah and Invisible Illnesses Inc, the Network provides a space for Mandurah-based Peer Support Groups and organisations to connect, network, share information, and access training and education that will support their work in the local community.

The first session focused on grants and fundraising, providing attendees with the tools and support to identify suitable funding opportunities and prepare a strong grant application.

If you're based in Mandurah or surrounding suburbs, we encourage you to join the network to access free training and information-sharing within your local community.

ConnectGroups congratulates the following Pay It Forward Plan grant recipients who were recently awarded:

- Ngulla Koort Indigenous Corporation: Development of flyers and a logo to promote the organisation and its services.

- Doors Wide Open: Training through WAAMH; Understanding Self Harm and Being Trauma Responsive, and IT equipment.

- Activate Mental Health: Consultant fees to build the governance capacity of AMH and complete the transition from an individual driven soletrader into a registered charity.

- Val and Kathy’s Crafty Kitchen: On-country events to allow families to come together in times of hardship and stress to relax and facilitate healing through activities such as fishing and art.

- PTSD West: Culturally safe and inclusive workshop to explore healing through art. Printing of flyers to promote the group and a Zoom subscription to hold online meetings.

- Nans on a Mission Perth: 2-day Wananga (workshop) respite to uplift physical, spiritual, social, and emotional well-being.

- Solace Grief Support Group WA: Venue hire, printing of information for grief packs for new members and a Zoom subscription to allow the group to connect with regional members.

- Goldfields Pride: Funding to support IT software and insurances for the group.

- WA Autistic Adults (WA3): Funding for public liability insurance to run the face-to-face group meetings/events.

- Greenbushes Acoustic: To establish 2 new mental health Support Groups within the Southwest of WA (Busselton and Collie) similar to Greenbushes Acoustic through mentoring of two identified local champions and 2 day events in each location for locals to experience the groups’ activities.

- Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren WA (GRGWA): 3 x laptops to support facilitators to coordinate groups in 3 new locations.

- South West Migrant Women's Group: Group activities and venue hire as part of monthly meetings to support positive mental health/social and emotional wellbeing outcomes.

- DISCHARGED: Website hosting, google workspace and Zoom subscription to continue to maintain online presence.

- TransFolk of WA: Funding for specialised mental health training for staff and volunteers.

- PFLAG Perth: Public liability insurance

- Miracle Babies Foundation: Marketing and promotion.

- Reach Us Pilbara: Training and activities supporting mental health and self-care for group members. Focusing on engaging more men into the group.

- Acceptance Perth: Funding for marketing and promotional materials and venue hire for the “Queer Christian Stories” event.

- Kings Park Warriors (KPW): Funding to support KPW to establish themselves as an association, building a website and training members in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).

- 12 Buckets Peer Support Groups: To translate the 12 Guiding Bucket Areas into languages for CaLD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

A total of $57,438.86 was awarded during this Pay it Forward round.

Mental Health Week is a national week celebrated each year in October scheduled around World Mental Health Day on 10 October. It provides a prime opportunity to address and highlight the important connection between social determinants and mental health; and promote effective prevention strategies to keep people mentally healthy.

In 2023, Mental Health Week in WA will be held over 7-14 October with the theme: 'Mind. Body. Environment.'

Mental Health Week grants are now available for not-for-profit agencies to increase mental health awareness, educate around mental health knowledge and skills, or to fund equipment and activities for physical health and creative participation.

Applications close Monday 31st July 2023.

Medibank has provided some top tips to stay healthy ahead of cold and flu season (and help keep your loved ones and more vulnerable people in the community safe too). Staying physically well promotes our mental wellbeing too by allowing us to continue to practise regular self-care activities.

1. Get the flu jab

2. Wash and dry your hands

3. Keep your distance

4. Stay home when you’re unwell

5. Clean shared spaces: disinfect frequently touched surfaces like benches and door handles

6. Don’t share germs (or personal items where they like to live): glasses, cutlery, towels

7. Support your body’s natural defence system:

a. Get enough sleep

b. Try to find healthy ways to manage stress

c. Keep your body moving

8. Eat nutritious meals

9. Be Prepared: keep some essential items at the ready.

Burrongglo operates with the Dampier Peninsula region of the Kimberley supporting at-risk Indigenous youth through culturally safe and inclusive programs promoting recovery, empowerment and healing from trauma, grief and loss.

Burrongglo was funded through Dream it Forward for practical support of Youth Empowerment and Healing Cultural Camps (YEaHCC) for youth from the Kullari region (Broome, Bidyadanga, Beagle Bay, Lombardina, Djarindjin, Ardyaloon, and community outstations. The camps delivered a series of healing, social, emotional, health, wellbeing, life skills, leadership, and cultural activities. The activities were designed to activate cultural identity, strengthen peer support, and promote knowledge of country and belonging with the goal of increasing personal agency and leadership to disrupt suicide risk.

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