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          Online directory of mental health and community services

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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 Month

Mental Health Month

Get involved in Mental Health Month

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Mental Health Matters Awards 2019

Eight Mental Health matters award winners have been announced for 2019. These individuals and organisations have worked to improve understanding, awareness, service provision and the general mental health of communities in NSW over the previous year.

“This year’s incredible winners showcase the amazing work being done across New South Wales to create communities and connections that support people going through difficult times and enable everyone to have the best possible mental health.” 

Elizabeth Priestley, WayAhead CEO

Mental Health Matters Youth Award

FLING Physical Theatre for “My Black Dog”

Bega

A performance and research project designed to support the mental health of young people in regional locations. The project involves the creation and presentation of a new live work exploring the fictional lives of regional teens and the adults around them such as parents, teachers and school counsellors. The show has been designed for future touring with the hope to take it to regional towns across NSW in 2020.


Mental Health Matters Community Initiative Award

Jewish Suicide Prevention Strategy (JSPS), initiated and coordinated JewishCare NSW

Sydney

The first and only Jewish specific suicide prevention strategy in Australia, the Jewish Suicide Prevention Strategy (JSPS) was developed in response to a number of people attempting and taking their own lives within the community. A steering committee was formed, comprising representatives from 20 communal organisations, including local Jewish schools, Rabbis, Jewish crisis and emergency medical services, and Jewish Youth Groups and mainstream organisations.


Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Award

Warranggal Dhiyan (Strong Families) program, Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation

Gunnedah

The Warranggal Dhiyan (Strong Families) program is an intensive management and support package program for individuals and families who are in regular contact with the criminal justice system and may be at risk of becoming incarcerated. The program also supports individuals who have been released from incarceration, with an aim to reduce the rate of recidivism. The program aims to offer support to individuals and families that may not be at risk of incarceration but are in adverse contact with the system.


Outstanding Achievement in Mental Health Promotion Award

Mission Australia, Connections Program – Reducing Loneliness in Far West NSW

Broken Hill

The Connections Program is an out-of-hours social connection program wholly staffed by Peer Support Workers with a lived experience of mental ill health. Access to out-of-hours services is a particular issue in the Broken Hill community, creating a reliance on emergency and crisis services. In order to address this issue, Mission Australia and the far West Local Health District, in partnership with consumers and family and carer groups, co-designed the Connections program to provide people with a bridge between inpatient services and the community.


Leadership through Lived Experience Award

Katherine Gill, FND Australia Support Services

Sydney

For decades, Kate has been using her lived experiences of services, and of slipping through sector gaps, to advocate for others in similar situations and improve system responses to the needs of people with complex and poorly understood mental illnesses. Most significantly Kate established the first and only charity to advocate for and offer support to meet the needs of people with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) through FND Australia Support Services Inc.


WayAhead Workplaces Wellbeing Award

The Freelance Jungle

Windang

The Freelance Jungle began with a humble survey on freelance challenges and gatherings to bring people together. It has now grown to a brimming Facebook group, and face-to-face networking events in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Central Coast, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Adelaide. It includes a focus on education and knowledge share through a variety of online community platforms, content sources and coaching avenues. The Freelance Jungle focuses on reminding self-employed people stress has a productivity cost, ending the isolation inherent in the freelance world and raising the knowledge bar for Australian freelancers everywhere.


Mental Health Matters Rainbow Inclusion Award – Sponsored by ACON

Rainbow Waves Festival Committee, Pambula Mental Health Service

Bega Valley

Rainbow Waves was a mardi gras style festival held for the first time in April 2019 in the Bega Valley to acknowledge the LGBTI community and the unique challenges they face in rural and regional areas. The organisers wanted to create an inclusive event for everyone to come together in a safe space and show there is support in the wider community regardless of what sexual or gender issues a person may be struggling with.


NSW Mental Health Commissioner’s Award

Dr Jonathan Ho

Wagga Wagga

Dr Jonathan Ho is a GP based in Wagga Wagga who is passionate about helping people through trauma, the justice system, drug and alcohol addiction and mental ill-health. He sees it as a privilege to better understand people by creating a safe environment in which they can safely share their emotions. Much loved in his community, he is renowned for his empathy and focus on holistic, patient-centred care.

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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