Mental Health Carers Voice August Update

August 2021

MHCV Team Update

Dear Carers,

We are posting regularly on Facebook with information about current COVID arrangements and wellbeing tips to help you and people you care for get through this current lockdown. If you need to talk to someone, Carers ACT staff are available via the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.

Carers ACT has put together a page with up-to-date information and links related to the current lockdown at Information on the Aug 2021 COVID-19 Situation - Carers ACT. We have also created a factsheet with a summary of where to get mental health supports during the current lockdown.

We would also like to share these factsheets created last year to help carers of people with mental health issues.

Cues to Listen for to assess the wellbeing of a person when you are not face-to face - Commissioned by Carers ACT and developed by the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Advisory of Canberra Health Services. This Fact Sheet gives carers practical information on what to listen to when the person you care for is in isolation and you do not have the visual cues you are used to rely on.
Ways to help people engage and accept services during COVID 19 - Commissioned by Carers ACT and developed by the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Advisory of Canberra Health Services. This Fact Sheet gives carers practical “How to” help the person you care for engage and accept support during this COVID-19 public emergency.

Unfortunately due to the current lockdown, we've had to postpone the Caring Together conference - but that won't stop us bringing you new and exciting things! We've just launched our new website at mhcv.org.au, which will host information about our advocacy work, consultations, resources and more! We've also launched the Carer Navigator, a resource for mental health carers in the ACT, at navigator.mhcv.org.au - more about that below. Both sites are new so we welcome your feedback if you spot any glitches, typos or have suggestions for content - send us an email at mhcarers@carersact.org.au.

We hope you are all staying safe at home,
C Moore and Catherine Vonarx
The Mental Health Carers Voice Team

Introducing the Carer Navigator!

We've been working for the past few months on a new online resource to help mental health carers navigate the mental health system in the ACT. This resource will be kept up-to-date with service information and resources to support you and the person you care for. You can see the new site at navigator.mhcv.org.au.

Since this is a new resource, we are seeking your feedback so we can make improvements and add anything that's missing. We want your feedback on:

Ease of use
Relevance of information
Information we should add
Future feature ideas

After you've had a look at the site, share your thoughts at forms.office.com/r/QSEzDmPKf5

Seeking Advisory Group Members

The Mental Health Carers Advocacy and Policy Advisory Group (APAG) provides MHCV with advice based in lived experience to plan and guide our work. We are looking for carers to join the group.

We are looking for carers who:

have recent lived experience caring for someone with mental health issues
can work as a member of a team
listen respectfully and contribute to discussion
can attend meetings every two months and contribute online to progress the group’s priorities
have networks within the mental health carer community.
have understanding of systemic issues in mental health in the ACT

We especially encourage young carers and carers from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to apply.
To express your interest, please contact us with your full name, email, phone number and answers to the following:

Tell us a little about yourself and your caring role
Tell us a little about what you think the important issues are for people who care for someone with mental health problems.
Briefly describe the personal qualities you would bring to the group.
Briefly describe other skills, knowledge and experience you would bring to APAG

For more information and to submit your expression of interest contact mhcarers@carersact.org.au by close of business Friday the 10th of September. For more information, read this document.

PACER Committee Vacancy

We are currently seeking a carer representative to join the Police, Ambulance & Mental Health Clinician Early Reponses (PACER) working group. PACER is a fairly new mental health initiative in the ACT. It consists of a police officer, paramedic and mental health clinician working together to respond, assess and provide intervention to people experiencing a mental health crisis in the community that requires a rapid specialist response.

We are ideally seeking a carer with recent experience of the PACER team and experience representing carers at health committees. If you do not have experience in representation, MHCV can provide training and support. Meetings are held every two months on a Friday morning and representatives are remunerated for their time.

To express your interest, please email mhcarers@carersact.org.au with:

Your full name
Your phone number
A brief outline of your experience with PACER or similar services and why you are interested in the role.

Expressions of interest close on September 10th.

Seeking volunteers for an important study about adolescent violence against older carers

The study is being carried out by the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Youth Coalition of the ACT. The purpose of the study is to understand the nature of violence and abuse perpetrated by young people against their older carers, the context in which it occurs and barriers for carers accessing support.

We want to speak to older carers who have experienced violence or abuse (physical or non-physical) from a young person (aged 10-19 years old) under their care.

Care arrangements can be formal or informal, part-time or full-time.

You can participate in this study if you:

live in Canberra or the surrounding areas (e.g. Queanbeyan); and
were 55 years or older when you experienced violence or abuse from a young person.

If this sounds like you, we are asking you to participate in an interview with a researcher. You will receive $40 for your time.

To find out more information about the study, please contact Dr Kristal Coe on (02) 6247 3540 or kristal@youthcoalition.net

Community Corrections Inquiry Extended

The Justice and Community Safety Committee has extended the deadline for the Community Corrections inquiry to at least 30 November 2021, while the community sector and justice/corrections system is managing significant disruption during the COVID outbreak.

We encourage mental health carers who have had interactions with the justice system to put in a submission about their experience. Your submission can be as simple as an email outlining your experience and what you would like to change. More accessible options such as transcribed submissions, audio submissions, site visits, and offsite hearings may be available, for people with lived experience who are more comfortable talking than writing. Find out more about the inquiry on the Legislative Assembly webpage.

There is a useful resource on writing submissions from the Mental Health Legal Centre available here.

Events Coming Up

Managing Your Stress

26 August, 10:00-10:30am

Online

Self Care And Boundaries

26 August, 1:30-2:00pm

Online

Training and Education

DoNoHarm Training with Mental Health Community Coalition

Hosted by the Mental Health Community Coalition and MIEACT. This 4 hour workshop is built off MIEACT’s DoNoHarm framework© and builds on the skills of individuals with a lived experience and their support network to use inclusive language and minimise referred trauma. In this session you will explore personal and professional boundaries to share and hear stories safely. This session is delivered by a qualified facilitator in partnership with a lived experience Educator. This training will be held from 10am-2pm on September 29th, online. Tickets are available from Humanitix.

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