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  • About WayAhead
        • At WayAhead, we work every day to educate people throughout New South Wales on mental health and wellbeing and link them to services and resources that improve their mental health.
          Our vision is for a society that understands, values and actively supports the best possible mental health and wellbeing.
        • How we work for better mental health

          We work towards better mental health and wellbeing through:

          • The co-ordination of mental health promotion activities such as Mental Health Month NSW, WayAhead Workplaces, Perinatal Depression and Anxiety Awareness Week and Stress Less Tips
          • Free anxiety support groups throughout NSW
          • The provision of mental health information – the WayAhead Directory, mental health factsheets
          • Education seminars such as or Understanding Anxiety Forums and Professional Development Workshops – for people living with a mental health condition, the public and health care professionals
          • Small Steps workshops for parents and school teachers to raise awareness and improve recognition of anxiety disorders in children.
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Mental Health Matters Awards 2017

Community groups and individuals from across New South Wales have been recognised for their efforts promoting mental health and wellness programs in their local communities, for the 2017 Mental Health Matters Awards.

This year’s award winners were announced on Thursday 28th September during a lunch marking the official launch of Mental Health Month, held in New South Wales Parliament House.

Today’s winners are at the forefront of making a difference to the lives of people living with a mental illness, and we must continue to work together to give the best possible care to people who need it most.” 

Hon Tanya Davies MP


NSW Mental Health Commissioner's Community Champion Award

Clarence Youth Action (CYA)

Clarence Youth Action is an inclusive and diverse group who meet regularly to make decisions that relate to young people, work on community projects, organise events and participate in forums. They provide a platform that encourages greater participation by young people in a range of community initiatives. Membership benefits young people by giving them the opportunity to develop skills they can use throughout their lives, such as leadership and decision making skills, working collaboratively, developing creative ideas and undertaking projects that benefit young people and the broader community.


Mental Health Promoting Workplace Award

Act-Belong-Commit, Anson Street School

Act-Belong-Commit (ABC) is a thriving campaign developed by Curtin University and has been successfully adopted by Anson St School – an educational workplace involved in the Mentally Healthy Orange initiative. The purpose of the ABC project is for communities to be proactive and positive about their approach to mental health and wellbeing. In the school setting, it has been about being active, keeping up connections with others and engaging in activities that provide purpose in life, to protect and enhance the mental health of school community members. Implemented as a whole school initiative, ABC has shown exceptional results including a greater sense of community, giving opportunities for parents to engage meaningfully within the school and addressing the increased prevalence of mental health concerns in young people


Media - National or State Award

My Year 12 Life, Princess Pictures

Produced by the award-winning Princess Pictures, My Year 12 Life is a raw television series which follows the journey of fourteen teenagers in their final year of school. Introducing audiences to a new form of story-telling, these students share their lives, feelings and insights through personally-captured footage. Packed with emotion, hilarity, heartbreak and suspense, the resulting series reminds us of how pivotal Year 12 is and what the future looks like at 18. It highlights parental, cultural and school pressures; body image; stress and anxiety; and school and social life balance. Given its relevance and relatability, the series has aired on a number of Australian channels and remarkably made available to all schools with an episode-by-episode study guide.


Lived Experience Participation and Leadership Award

The Grow Group Program, Grow NSW

The Grow Group Program is a weekly meeting initiative organised by Grow NSW which creates a welcoming space for individuals experiencing mental illness, to support one another through their journeys of recovery and the achievement of personal goals. Complementary to clinical interventions, Grow Groups aim to change thinking and behaviour by offering strategies on how to deal with an emotional crisis, manage feelings, think by reason, take responsibility for one’s actions, but also, realise personal worth and improve relationships. This is delivered through peer support, group discussions, social outings, training interactions and literature readings developed by members. Currently, Grow has achieved astounding results, delivering over 180 Grow Groups and having over 2,500 people attend groups on a regular basis.


Carer Recognition Award

Peter Heggie, National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum (NMHCCF)

For the last ten years, Peter Heggie has lived experience as a carer looking after his wife who lives with mental illness. Currently, Peter is the Carers Australia representative to the National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum (NMHCCF). Peter has exhibited exceptional skills in networking and identifying connections that can strengthen the work of mental health in the community. Some of his achievements have included creating an NDIS Carer Statement currently endorsed by the NDIA and promoting stronger linkages between the Primary and Local Health Districts and community-based organisations. Peter believes that maintaining a strong recovery orientation in mental health care is vital, as well as the recognition of peers in the co-design and development of programs.

 


Mental Health Promotion and Wellbeing Award

Positive Choices, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence and Substance Use UNSW

Positive Choices is a national drug prevention portal expanding the scope and reach of evidence-based drug prevention across Australian schools. Developed in close consultation and collaboration with teachers, parents and students, this notable portal provides centralised access to a comprehensive range of drug prevention resources, all of which meet the Positive Choices criteria for relevance, quality and evidence basis. Providing users with a wealth of information, these include fact sheets, games, videos and resources that can be used by teachers to develop lesson plans which align with the Australian Curriculum. Overall, this cost-free portal, which has been accessed nationally and internationally by over 63,000 users, has equipped many parents, school leaders and staff to respond more effectively to the prominent issue of substance use.


Mental Health Promotion and Wellbeing Award

 Mind Blank Ltd, Sub-Conscious Understanding for Better Awareness (SCUBA) Initiative

Recognised Australia wide for mental health awareness and education, Mind Blank Ltd is a grassroots organisation delivering the highly interactive Sub-Conscious Understanding for Better Awareness (SCUBA) Initiative. Touring to high schools and service providers all over NSW, SCUBA delivers workshop-style performances showcasing “worse-case” mental health scenarios to young people. Ingenious in its approach, the cast replays scenes after inviting the audience to provide suggestions on how certain scenarios can be resolved. This allows viewers to learn about the protagonist’s life and their opportunities for seeking help in the performance. Overall SCUBA aims to increase the number of young people practising self-care and encourage help seeking behaviour, in the efforts to reduce the risk of youth suicide across the nation.


Excellence in Service or Program Delivery Award

KidsXpress, Outreach-Expressive Therapy Program

Awarded accreditation as an Evidence Based Program for the Federal Government’s Institute of Family Studies in 2015, KidsXpress is an innovative, transdisciplinary approach to early intervention trauma therapy. Uniquely combining different forms of expressive therapy including music, art, drama, dance and play, this outreach program has been delivered across 21 schools throughout Inner and Western Sydney, reaching over 350 children in need. Led by expert therapists, this approach to trauma-informed care has created safe and nurturing environments where children can use creative expression as tools to explore and better understand themselves, their past experiences and the complex emotions they’re currently experiencing. Fundamentally, KidsXpress has aimed to equip children with life-long resilience and coping strategies, preventing their current challenges from persisting into adulthood.


Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities Award

Mental Health first Aid and The Translational Health Research Institute (THRI), School of Medicine - Western Sydney University

In collaboration with Mental Health First Aid Australia, THRI have tailored a training course to educate community-based workers on how to provide initial help to individuals from an Iraqi background experiencing PTSD and depression related crises. Using the highly successful Mental Health First Aid training model, this tailored Mental Health Literacy Course was delivered to 86 participants from several NSW based organisations. Given its adapted approach, the intervention has been highly effective, helping trainees improve their recognition of PTSD, reduce their negative attitudes towards PTSD and depression related problems, change beliefs regarding treatment to align with those of mental health professionals, and improving confidence when helping Iraqi refugees. Additional guidelines have also been developed to further assist work with this cultural group.


Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Award

Stories of Lived Experience, Weave youth and Community Services

Weave Youth & Community Services (Weave) is at the forefront in providing casework, counselling, social activities, creative arts and community development projects to socially excluded young individuals in Sydney, including those from the local Aboriginal Community. In 2016, Weave undertook the “Stories of Lived Experience” project which aimed to improve the outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous service users experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and their carers. Taking the form of a thought-provoking documentary film and photography exhibition, the project uniquely captures individuals’ lived experience of therapeutic relationships and service delivery. These insightful stories essentially helped build an understanding of how the mental health sector can better support the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal communities.

 

 

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At School

 

How can we share the journey at school?

  • Host a Mental Health Month assembly
  • Include Mental Health Month in your classroom activities 
  • Support students to put on their own events for Mental Health Month
  • Consider hosting a “Share a Meal for Mental Health Month” event on World Mental Health Day
  • Ensure that all students and staff know what supports are available at your school
  • Challenge ideas and language that may have a negative impact on the way people think
    about mental ill-health

 

Download the ‘Schools Pack’ with heaps of useful resources and activities

Download the ‘At School’ social post here

Check out all the Share the Journey downloads here

At Work

 

How can we share the journey at work??

  • Include mental health in discussions about workplace health and safety
  • Organise wellbeing activities and make them accessible to people
  • Consider hosting an event for Mental Health Month
  • Have someone to come and talk to your workplace about mental health and wellbeing
  • Connect with the WayAhead Workplaces network –
    a network of likeminded organisations working together to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace.

 

Download the ‘At Work’ social post here

Check out all the Share the Journey downloads here

With Family and Friends

 

How can we share the journey with family and friends?

  • Share a hobby or teaching each other something new
  • Helping each other with chores like laundry, cooking or cleaning
  • Help each other get to appointments, occasions or events
  • Organise times to check in with each other
  • Help each other plan for difficult situations
  • Create a fun challenge you can do together
  • Play games together

 

Download the ‘Family and Friends’ social post here

Check out all the Share the Journey downloads here

In the Community

 

How can we share the journey with family and friends?

  • Host a community event for Mental Health Month
  • Think about ways you can connect with people experiencing mental health issues –
    this could include having quiet spaces or transport options available for community events.
  • Make sure that mental health and wellbeing are talked about in your community
  • Consider hosting a “Share a Meal for Mental Health Month” event on World Mental Health Day in your community

 

Download the ‘In the Community’ social post here

Check out all the Share the Journey downloads here

Share the Journey

 

Connecting with others is important for all aspects of our health and wellbeing. Research tells us that feeling connected with others gives us a sense of security, support, purpose and happiness. Close connections and good relationships with others help us enjoy good times in our lives as well as cope with difficult experiences. Many of us report feeling lonely and believe loneliness is increasing in Australia. For those experiencing or living with mental illness, loneliness can have an even bigger impact, especially when you factor in the added experiences of social exclusion and stigma.

Share the Journey is all about ways we can connect with others, both for our own health and wellbeing, as well as theirs.

Sharing the journey can mean many things:

  • Telling your loved ones about both your successes and difficulties
  • Reaching out to people who might be withdrawing from others
  • Working with someone to find and access services or support
  • Asking for help with day-to-day things when you need it
  • Getting involved in group activities, like sports or book clubs
  • Sharing a cuppa with a mate

 

Whether you reach out to someone who might be feeling a bit lost or find a way to connect with others when you need some help,
building positive social connection is something we can all try and do.

Download this information as a fact sheet here

View all Share the Journey downloads here