autumn 2009

issue 113

mivoice

inside features MI Fellowship’s capital venture p4 | CGEA graduate’s story p6 | Christmas thank-you p10 | Respite option p9

’09 Woodcock lecturer announced p5

top of the class: our new CGEA graduates p6-7

Registered with the Department of Human Services Print Post Approved 350190 / 00023 ISSN 0816 7877

1 in 5 will be affected with mental illness. 5 in 5 can help. You can help by joining mifriendsee inside back cover for more

The Hon. Robert Knowles AO

from our president

2

As we start 2009 we face new challenges, many

of which we have been advocating. The economic

downturn is expected to have an impact on the

funding for some of these initiatives, however we

will continue to argue for financial support from

governments at state and commonwealth levels.

At the state level the new mental health policy Because

mental health matters is due for release in March this

year. We – and many of you – had significant input into

the development of this framework and now look forward

to seeing the implementation and funding strategies

that will accompany it. You can access this document at

www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/reformstrategy

This policy focuses on eight areas for reform,

commencing with promoting mental health and

wellbeing, and reforming child and adolescent mental

health services to cover up to the age of 25. Access

to mental health services is on the agenda, as is the

responsiveness of services, community-based beds

and support. The agenda aims to provide better services

for people from cultural and linguistically diverse

populations and those with other co-existing disorders.

Workforce development and innovation and building

partnerships to improve accountability and outcomes

round out the reform agenda. I encourage you to look

at this document.

The challenges we face in 2009 will not be purely financial ones.

But MI Fellowship will ensure that governments at all levels are

well aware of the importance of the projects we are advocating.

www.mifellowship.org

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This broad platform for change also prompted

a review of the 1986 Mental Health Act, which is

now the oldest Act of its kind in Australia. The State

Government’s consultation document can also be found

at www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/mhactreview

We have actively participated in consultations and have

conducted our own, the outcomes of these discussions

now being consolidated into a submission that will

be completed by the end of February. Once this is

completed we will publish it on our website.

At the national level, the Commonwealth Government

and the States have identified areas where the roles

of each level of government could be improved. These

discussions have directly influenced the rollout of the

respite and the personal helpers and mentors programs.

Consultations are under way in each state and territory and

a decision about who funds what, and who holds which

responsibilities is expected to be made at the Councils

of Australian Governments meeting in March this year.

Finally, the white paper on homelessness has

been released, and we will keep you up to date

on developments.

I am also pleased to announce that Dr David Morris from

the UK’s National Social Inclusion Program will be our

speaker for the Woodcock lecture during Schizophrenia

Awareness Week. I hope that you are able to attend this

important event.

contents from our chief executive p3 | new step up step down facility p4 | woodcock lecture p5 | graduation p6-7 | people and their stories p8 | news bites p9 | clout! p10-11

autumn 2009

8 10

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from our chief executive

“Work connects people to the wider world”

is the principle underlying the new National

Mental Health and Disability Employment

Strategy that has also long been a

passionate belief of MI Fellowship.

Without educational and economic

participation, there can be no social inclusion.

People with mental illness need work or

study opportunities to increase financial

independence, expand their social networks,

and boost self-confidence and self-esteem.

Our platform seeks an integrated education

and employment policy for people living

with a mental illness, increased investment

for long-term individualised support and

initiatives for mental health professionals and

employers to prepare them for the challenge

of social inclusion.

With our partner agencies in the community

sector we will continue to strongly participate

in the consultation surrounding the release of

the new Disability Employment Strategy and

the policy paper soon to follow.

In addition to our continuing campaign

for improved education and employment

opportunities, MI Fellowship has articulated

many fresh challenges ahead in our Strategic

Plan, 2009-2013. We envisage robust growth

but a continued focus on psychotic illnesses

as our core business.

By shaping our services with more active health

promotion and earlier intervention, we intend to

have a greater impact on the severity of illness

and its consequences. Peer involvement has

always been a driver; in the future we aim to

grow the active involvement of participants

and carers in our services.

We plan to increase the scope of our services

to include more younger and older people

with mental illness. A key change is the

significantly increased emphasis that we

will place on strengthened relationships with

our stakeholders.

On this page you’ll see some of the shocking

indicators that show the unacceptably poor

health of many people with a serious mental

illness. Ultimately, the effectiveness of this

strategic plan – indeed, of this organisation

– will be measured by our capacity to make a

positive difference to the appalling health and

social inequality of people with a mental illness.

Finally, MI Fellowship shares the profound

horror that the bushfires have brought to

Victoria, and specifically to some of our

participants and their families.

It is important that you know that this

organisation has been proactive in responding

swiftly and practically to assist those affected.

We would welcome any suggestions from

you regarding additional measures that could

increase our effectiveness in supporting our

people at this time.

A new Federal Government direction is echoing a long-held MI Fellowship belief.

Elizabeth Crowther

A state of bad health

• The death rate of people

with a mental illness is 2.5

times greater than

the general population.

• People with schizophrenia have

a mortality rate that is up to

three times higher than

that of the general population.

• Heart disease is the main

cause of above average deaths among people with

mental illness.

• A likely cause of the high death

rate of people with mental

illness is poorer detection:

people with mental illness are

30 per cent more likely to

die from a cancer diagnosis.

• People with mental illness have

poor oral health, requiring a

greater rate of dental treatment

such as extractions, than other

low income consumers.

• People living with severe mental

illness experience higher rates of physical illness due to adverse risk

health behaviours – smoking,

alcohol and other drug use,

obesity and poor diet, under-

activity and lack of exercise.

Source: VICSERV (2008) Framework for Influencing: Health Inequalities – Policy and Practice Failure.

autumn 2009

4mivoice

Visit www.mifellowship.org

for news, views, events and mental health information. Who knows

– you may wish to make a secure online donation while you’re there.

Make sure to subscribe to our free private e-newsletter mi voice

update which keeps you in touch with us in between magazines.

autumn 2009

residential centre a capital ideanThe nation’s capital has become home to MI Fellowship’s latest residential centre – and its first interstate venture

MI Fellowship has taken its mental health expertise north of the border, partnering with ACT Mental Health to open up a new Step Up, Step Down centre in Canberra.

ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher officially opened the

five-bedroom centre in suburban Lyneham on January 8.

Step Up, Step Down programs, known as Prevention

and Recovery Care (PARC) centres in Victoria, provide an

important midway point for people receiving treatment for

a mental illness. They assist those who have just exited

from acute psychiatric care but need more support to

transition back into the community as well as people

who need support to prevent the onset of a mental

illness episode but are not so unwell that they require

an in-patient stay in hospital.

As well as giving these people more options for

managing their illness, the program also helps to improve

community understanding of mental illness and relieve

some of the pressure on acute inpatient beds.

MI Fellowship, based on our experience running PARC

centres in South Yarra and Shepparton, is providing the

psychosocial support for the Lyneham Step Up Step

Down. ACT Mental Health will provide the clinical support.

“You go into a psychiatric hospital and you’re dislocated

from your normal life, you obviously don’t go to work and

maybe your family and friends don’t want to visit because

it’s a pretty horrid environment to be in, you lose contact

with the clubs and social networks that you might be a

part of,” MI Fellowship’s Rehabilitation General Manager,

Laura Collister, said at the opening.

“For someone to be able to continue to cook their own

meals or get support to do that, and continue on their

normal routine is really critical to their recovery.”

ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher is f anked by MI Fellowship’s Rehabilitation General Manager, Laura Collister, left, and Mental Health ACT’s Director, Access and Specialty Services, Christine Waller.

(left to right) Mark Johnson, Michelle Russell, Babu Vattaparambil, Hilda Seima, Neil Forman, Linda Bochenek, Bryony Walsh, Maggie Scott, Gavin Bussenschutt

This year’s Woodcock lecture will be delivered on Tuesday 19th May by an international expert with a career spent working out how best to further social inclusion.

5mivoice

The type of work carried out by Dr David Morris (right)

would be familiar to many mental health workers in

Australia. What may not be is the scale of his undertaking,

which should make for an interesting perspective at this

year’s Woodcock lecture.

As program director of the National Social Inclusion

Program (NSIP) which he established at the National

Institute for Mental Health in England, Dr Morris oversaw

the British government’s implementation of the 2004

report Mental Health and Social Exclusion.

Through NSIP he has led implementation of the report’s

27 sets of recommendations. These recommendations

will have far-reaching consequences given that it has

been estimated that one in four British adults – more

than 12 million people – experience at least one

diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, one

in six at any given time.

an all-inclusive vision

NSIP also contributed to the work of the Prime Minister’s

Strategy Unit on inclusion and its Social Exclusion Action Plan

(2006), had lead responsibility for parts of the report relating

to employment and mental health and backed a new cross-

government public service agreement on social inclusion.

Away from NSIP, Dr Morris has had a long-standing professional and

research interest in social inclusion and community engagement.

With a professional background in social work and management

of mental health services in local authority social care, he

has extensive experience in social inclusion and advised on

strategy and practice across a range of governmental and non-

governmental organisations at national and international levels.

Apart from this Australian tour, he has represented the

International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership in Europe,

the US, New Zealand and Latin America. He also works with the

World Health Organisation and the Institute of Psychiatry, London.

social inclusion

autumn 2009

n

Here we look back at the speakers and issues from the Bruce Woodcock lectures’ first 10 years.

The Bruce Woodcock lectures began in

1999 after an approach to Mental Illness

Fellowship Victoria by Frank and Patricia

Woodcock. They wanted to honour the

memory of Frank’s late son Bruce, who

had schizophrenia, while challenging the

stigma and discrimination surrounding

mental illness.

In the past decade, experts from

Australia and overseas have shed light

on an area that is still misunderstood

by so many people.

The first four lectures were delivered

by local speakers. Chief Psychiatrist

Norman James (1999) assessed mental

health services in Victoria and future

directions; VicHealth chief executive

Rob Moodie (2000) spoke on building

an inclusive and tolerant society;

Radio National’s Julie McCrossin

(2001) spoke on the role of families

when a member has a mental illness;

Churchill Fellow Caroline Crosse (2002)

discussed why work works.

An award-winning US author and

lecturer specialising in mental health

and homeless issues, Nathaniel

Lachenmeyer spoke in 2003 of his

father’s struggles and his own journey

in losing his father and later tracking

his story.

The next two lectures were delivered

by American experts – author

Dr Xavier Amador (2004) from

New York’s Columbia University

and the National Alliance for the

Mentally Ill and Professor Gary Bond

(2005), who has spent 25 years

researching the treatment of people

with a severe mental illness.

The 2006 visit by Major Sam Cochran

– the founder of the “Memphis model”

of police intervention in psychiatric

crises – helped get a review of Victoria

Police intervention practices when

called to psychiatric crises.

In addition to his 2007 lecture,

American anti-stigma campaigner

Dr Patrick Corrigan facilitated 17

community workshops around Victoria.

And last year saw Dr Sam Tsmeberis

present his Housing First model for

housing for people with a mental illness.

decade of insight

Dr Sam Tsmeberis, Patricia and Frank Woodcock.

ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher is f anked by MI Fellowship’s Rehabilitation General Manager, Laura Collister, left, and Mental Health ACT’s Director, Access and Specialty Services, Christine Waller.

2009 Woodcock lecture –

cgea’s classy dozen

6mivoiceautumn 2009

It was another exciting day at MI Fellowship on December 15 as the Certificate of General Education for Adults (CGEA) class of 2008 graduated with their latest awards.

Twelve students from the Fairfield

campus and eight from the Frankston

campus received their certificates, along

with five graduates from the Introduction

to Community and Event Volunteering,

newly offered by MI Fellowship.

The students at our new CGEA

Shepparton Campus are expected

to graduate in mid 2009.

CGEA provides people recovering

from a mental illness with an

opportunity to get back into the

rhythms and structures of studying,

before heading on to further study

or into the workforce.

CGEA classes provided by

MI Fellowship are specifically designed

for people with a mental illness.

They start later in the day, allow more

time for work to be completed and all

of the teachers and tutors are selected

for their suitability for working with

people with a mental illness.

Congratulations go to Ben Rinaudo

(right), of the Fairfield class, and

Karen McQuaigue (top centre),

of the Frankston class, for receiving

the Doris Wisniewski Student of the

Year Awards for 2008.

social inclusionemployment

(left to right) Frankston students; Michael Fernandez, Phil Connolly, Karen McQuaigue, Danielle Nygaard and Paul Tzambazis

(left to right) Fairfield students; Patrick Meehan, Selena Gately, Pat Tarquinio, Dean Lumley, Ben Rinaudo, Cathy Fratto, Chris Gooding and Strahan Anderson, Daniel Mahy

Mental Illness Fellowship organisational support worker Veronica Komodromou

making employment workIt is well recognised that education and employment have a major impact on quality of life and wellbeing. With this in mind, MI Fellowship has closely aligned these two services under the umbrella of vocational services.

Many of our CGEA students have work aspirations,

and these vocational services will make the pathway

for students wishing to make the transition from education

to employment as easy as possible.

Students are encouraged to register with our employment

service at the completion of the course. In fact, some past

students have been able to both study and work part-time.

The new government priorities in employment and

education are clear. It wants to see the delivery of training

that meets the labour market skill shortages. The alignment

of education and employment positions us well to meet

this challenge and to provide targeted training that is

immediately linked to current vacancies.

7mivoice

The team at Chapel Street Bazaar has been very accommodating and supportive, which has produced positive outcomes for all.

Work Matters conferenceLast November we were invited to present at the Work Matters Symposium-NSW, which explored the changing face of employment and education interventions in mental health.

Highlights of this conference included

presentations from Professor Hector Tsang

and Dr Geoff Waghorn, who spoke about the

superior employment outcomes achieved by

integrating employment and treatment services.

This was well complemented by Laura Collister

and Gafa Tuiloma’s presentation on how

MI Fellowship implemented this model of service

delivery within our own programs.

autumn 2009

employer profileAnyone who has visited Chapel Street Bazaar would agree that it takes you back to your childhood – or at least gives you a glimpse of the past.

Chapel Street Bazaar is a 25-year-old shopping institution

located in the heart of Prahran. Set up like a mini market,

it is covered from top to bottom with collectables, vintage

clothes, costume jewellery, furniture, posters and much more.

My Recruitment’s (MI Fellowship’s employment services) first

encounter with Chapel Street Bazaar occurred in mid-2008

when we had the opportunity to approach manager/owner

Jonine Versace. She was very keen to support the program

and set up a relationship.

Thanks to Jonine’s support we have managed to place a job

seeker who has been working with her since October last year.

This participant had not worked for more than eight years.

Jonine has been very flexible in allowing our

participant to choose her own hours and work

days. Jonine values empowerment and has consistently

shown that through her ongoing training. She recognises our

participant’s efforts and has expressed how much it helped

to have someone on board, especially during the Christmas

period. Some of the duties are dusting, window cleaning,

merchandising, and silver polishing.

The team at Chapel Street Bazaar has been very

accommodating and supportive, which has produced

positive outcomes for all.

If you have a business and require more staff, call us

at My Recruitment on 8486 4200. We can meet

your staffing needs free of charge.

(left to right) Frankston students; Michael Fernandez, Phil Connolly, Karen McQuaigue, Danielle Nygaard and Paul Tzambazis

Ben Rinaudo, one of 2008's Students of the Year.

Mental illness has been a common thread running

throughout much of Christine Sahasrara’s life. But she

was determined not to be defined by it alone.

Christine Sahasrara still remembers the times as a child

when she would shake, her hands clenched tightly into

fists. She recalls leaving school at 14 and how hard it

was to find a place to live, or a job. And she knows the

common thread through it all – mental illness.

But in her life’s journey, Christine has also encountered

something else: a desire to make her way on her own

terms. She accepts her mental illness; she does not

accept that it alone defines her.

And that’s why MI Fellowship’s Certificate in General

Education for Adults (CGEA) proved so beneficial.

CGEA is a series of four accredited certificates for people

who have not completed secondary education to improve

their literacy, numeracy and general education skills.

It is a stepping stone but also gives students hope. Students

have a counsellor as well as teaching staff to call on.

“No matter what illness you’ve got or what you need

to work with, if you make the decision to work with the

illness and talk about things to the teacher and the people

giving support to you, then it can be achieved. It’s not

difficult,” Christine says.

“It was a positive experience by the end of it and leaving

that door open for further education was really important.”

Since her CGEA course, Christine has completed the

Community Services Certificate II, an Environmental

Maintenance Certificate II, Aged Care Certificate III

(Personal Care) and is undertaking another certificate

course with the aim of becoming a hypnotherapist.

Her CGEA course also coincided with her getting a new job

through MI Fellowship as a cleaner with Social Firm Management

Group. She’s now a leading hand with the organisation.

“This job is the first permanent job that I have had,” Christine says.

“Through this job I have discovered other skills that I have, and

that has been really eye-opening and has given me reassurance.

“It is possible for people with mental illnesses to have a normal

life and to succeed.

“It’s not always perfect, it doesn’t always go to plan but I’m

working with the illness so I can do these things.”

“When I was in my certificate classes, just before we finished

the course we were talking about goal-setting and what we

wanted to achieve. When I told them that I had achieved getting

work, they all clapped.”

Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria currently runs

Certificate II, Certificate III (in General Education for

Adults) and Introduction to Community and Event

Volunteering courses. For information on all CGEA

courses run by Mental Illness Fellowship, contact Sue

Vardy on (03) 8486 4228. All courses are offered at low

cost to people aged over 18 and are available through

the Frankston, Fairfield and Shepparton venues.

a yearning to learn

8

pathways

mivoice

mi voice update – email newsletterStay in touch with the latest news and events in mental health. Register your details at www.mifellowship.org. It’s free, private and you can unsubscribe at any time.2

Christine Sahasrara

autumn 2009

“ It is possible for people with mental illnesses to have a normal life and to succeed.”

people and their stories

9mivoice

He established and guided the creation of our service

system, with direct input into developing and recruiting

staff. He was instrumental in building a culture of trust and

the belief that, with appropriate support, people with mental

illnesses can significantly contribute to their communities.

Eifion fostered the development of a recruitment process

in which all MI Fellowship staff are interviewed by

a technical staff panel and a consumer/carer panel, ensuring

our approach to care is based on the lived experience of

mental illness together with knowledge of best practice.

Eifion has been a driving force for MI Fellowship.

We will be holding a farewell celebration for him

in June and will ensure that invitations are

extended to his many friends and colleagues.

news bites

Carer respite on hand

In many regions mi respite options now has an evening

activity group for people with a mental illness who have

a carer in need of respite.

Eight weeks of activities are planned at an initial meeting with

both carer and participant, at which participants with similar

interests are matched. The aim is to form lasting friendships

that will continue long after the scheduled activities end.

The Bairnsdale group has successfully referred one participant

to a local psychiatric disability rehabilitation service, while

another has obtained regular work at a local café. The carers

are enjoying the knowledge that a specified time in their week

is theirs so they can take some time out for themselves.

If you are interested in taking part in a group in your area,

or know someone who may benefit, please contact your local

mi respite options co-ordinator.

New PARC for Frankston

MI Fellowship was recently announced as the preferred

tenderer for a new Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC)

program to be established in the Frankston area. The 10-bed

PARC will be run in partnership with Peninsula Health.

We have sourced a location for the program and are now

in the process of looking at building plans. This will be

MI Fellowship’s fourth PARC-type service, and is expected

to be operational in 2010.

MI Fellowship and Headspace partner up

MI Fellowship now offers employment assistance to young

people in the Barwon region in partnership with Headspace.

Sarah Stapleton was appointed our new youth specialist

employment consultant last August and now spreads her time

between three Headspace venues – Clockwork (Geelong city

centre), Jigsaw (Corio) and Bellarine (Surf Coast) – allowing

her greater access to the young people and Headspace

support staff.

Headspace’s mission is to deliver improvements in the mental

health, social wellbeing and economic participation of young

Australians aged 12-25.

Employment support in the community

My Recruitment, the specialist

employment service of MI Fellowship,

has had a Vocational Rehabilitation

Service (VRS) on the Mornington

Peninsula since July 2007.

Vocational rehabilitation involves

identifying, delivering and/or

purchasing interventions and

strategies to assist job seekers

to manage their disability and

achieve sustainable employment.

Offering VRS at the Hastings Community Information and

Support Centre gives access to an array of community-based

services in the Western Port area, allows us to advocate for

our clients in both their local community and job market and

means a simple referral process to other services offered at

the Hastings Centre.

We have recently increased our presence at the centre to one

full-time consultant in order to meet demand.

date for your diary in 2009 Volunteer information session

– Monday 6 April, 5.30pm-6.30pm, Fairfield Place |

Member forum – Monday 20th April, 6.30pm-8.30pm |

Find out more about all activities by calling 03 8486 4200 or visit www.mifellowship.org

fond farewellautumn 2009

Eifion Breese will be leaving MI Fellowship in June, having been integral to this organisation since joining us in 1997.

Volunteer manning reception

at the Hastings Community

Information and Support Centre.

10 mivoice

clout!volunteer Christmas partyOver 80 volunteers gathered in December to celebrate

their contribution towards MI Fellowship. Along with an

address from chief executive Elizabeth Crowther, two

volunteers spoke of their experiences.

Mona Osborne, a member of the sorting committee at the

Northcote Op Shop, described her volunteer experience as

“…the highlight of my week”. She finds great value in the

strong connection and support within the group of ladies who

have been sorting there for over 15 years.

Sam Fiumara is a reasonably new volunteer with our Speakers’

Bureau and volunteers his time to speak about his experience

of living with a mental illness. He says that volunteering as a

public speaker has helped him increase his confidence and

his ability to meet and communicate with new people.

We currently need volunteers for a variety of roles.

Register your attendance at our next volunteer information

session on April 6 by phoning 8486 4205 or e-mail to

volunteering@mifellowship.org

well ways carers’ dinner Over the past four years, the Well Ways team at MI

Fellowship has organised a carers’ dinner to celebrate the

wonderful work of carers of people with a mental illness.

Last November, over 70 carers attended the 2008 dinner

at Fairfield Place. The Italian theme la dolce vita (“the sweet

life”) was chosen as a reminder about the joy of living.

To this end, the menu featured lasagne and cannelloni

prepared by a local Italian club, delicacies from suppliers

of great Italian food and Italian wines.

The undisputed highlight of the night was the wonderful music

provided by the Italian women’s choir La Voce Della Luna,

led by well-known singer Kavisha Mazzella (right).

To send feedback to Stacia Beazley call 8486 4250 To renew your membership or update your details with Hayley Dodd call 8486 4220 or contact membership@mifellowship.org

well ways update The popularity of our Well Ways programs for family members

and friends of people with mental illness keeps on growing.

Well Ways programs reached an estimated 1000 family

members during 2008.

Alongside the original Well Ways program (Building a Future),

and the program targeting families of those with dual diagnosis

(Well Ways Duo), the Well Ways Snapshot program is finding a

ready audience amongst carers who are time-poor.

During 2008 we provided this one-day program as part of

organised respite retreats for family members. Feedback from

participants was so positive that we look forward to providing

more “retreats” in 2009.

other member newsNext Member Forum to be held on April 20 6.30-8.30pm

Pathways to Employment – Exploring employment

pathways for people with mental illness.

for membersclout! news

autumn 2009

Management, staff and volunteers would like to thank all those who sent in a Christmas wish. Mental Illness Fellowship

would also like to thank all who donated to the Christmas Appeal. Your generous gifts allow us to keep helping people

with a mental illness, their families and friends.

11

Her position on the Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria board

has ensured that Lyn Allison can continue to champion the

cause of mental health away from parliament.

SHE has been, variously, a teacher, outspoken campaigner

on a raft of health, education, environment, nuclear and

women’s issues, and leader of a political party. Now Lyn

Allison is bringing her considerable experience to bear

as a Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria board member.

Having been elected to Federal Parliament in 1996, her

involvement with mental health began in 2005 – the year

after she assumed leadership of the Australian Democrats

– when she co-authored a study into the progress of mental

health reform following the Burdekin inquiry.

Former federal Human Rights Commissioner Brian Burdekin

headed a national inquiry into the human rights of people with

mental illness, taking evidence/submissions from more than

1300 witnesses around Australia. Lyn said she had “an average

person’s passing interest and outrage at what he found.”

She chaired the Democrats-initiated Senate Mental Health

Inquiry that handed down its reports in early 2006, leading

to a Council of Australian Governments agreement and an

additional $4 billion being spent on mental health. She initiated

a follow-up inquiry, which tabled its interim report in June 2008.

Since losing her Senate seat in the 2007 election,

Lyn has joined the boards of several health-related,

not-for-profit organisations.

Now looking at mental illness from the other side of

the political fence, Lyn said Victoria was better than

most states when it came to mental health. But she

knows things could be better.

The self-confessed “campaigner from way back” says

she is still finding her way as a MI Fellowship board member

but would like to see it involved in more programs dealing

with employment and housing.

“We’re all going in the right direction but there’s a long

way to go,” she said. “(But) we’re making some progress.

“I’d like Mental Illness Fellowship not be just a service

provider but be up there pushing things along, being

bold with government.

“I know it’s a difficult path to tread between upsetting

government … and pushing them to do bigger and

better things.”

mivoice

pushing for changeautumn 2009

Lyn Allison

“ I’d like Mental Illness Fellowship not be just a service provider but be up there pushing things along, being bold with government.”

Bill and Iris share their good luckOur annual raffle provided a timely win – and an unexpected windfall.

There turned out to be more than one winner from the

recently drawn Christmas raffle, with the good luck

spreading well beyond the confines of the winning ticket.

That ticket was held by Bill and Iris (right), married for 47

years and worrying how much longer their 1989 Laser would

keep them visiting their five children and 10 grandchildren.

But instead of keeping the prize – a brand new Toyota

Prius valued at more than $41,000 – Bill and Iris decided

to take a smaller, less expensive car and donate the

difference back to Mental Illness Fellowship.

Not that Bill and Iris’s

generosity should have

come as a complete

surprise. Bill was awarded

an honorary life governance

award in 1979 by the Royal Children’s

Hospital for his fundraising efforts.

To all those who supported MI Fellowship by purchasing raffle

tickets, we thank you for your support and hope you will support

us again when our next raffle comes around in May 2009.

If you should wish to support Mental Illness Fellowship please call 03 8486 4290 or go to www.mifellowship.org

Title Mr Mrs Ms Other ________________________

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Organisation Name (If Applicable) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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a job

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autumn 200912

Chief Executive : : Elizabeth CrowtherEditorial : : Hootville CommunicationsDesign : : Room44, Lisa MinichielloPrinting : : Bambra PressMI Voice aims to keep our readers informed of the latest

information on mental illness and our advocacy work. It is also

our opportunity to keep potential and existing supporters and

donors informed of the Mental Illness Fellowship’s activities

and the difference their contribution makes.

MI Voice is the quarterly publication of the Mental Illness

Fellowship Victoria, Fairfield Place 276 Heidelberg Road,

Fairfield, Victoria, Australia, 3078.

Telephone : : 03 8486 4200Email : : enquiries@mifellowship.orgWebsite : : www.mifellowship.orgMental Illness Fellowship retains the right to edit articles. Please note that the opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria.

© Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria. All rights reserved.ACN 093 357 165 ABN 93 093 357 165 ISSN 0816 7877

board of directorsPresident : : The Hon. Robert Knowles

Vice President : : Ms Louise Milne-Roch

Secretary : : Mrs Diane Brown

Treasurer : : Ms Jenny King

Directors : : Mr Darrel Drieberg, Mr Nathan Shafir, Mrs Elaine Price, Ms Lyn Allison, Mr Paul Montgomery, Mr Theo Krambias

Please use this form to change your address details, become a Member of the Mental Illness Fellowship or to show your support for our work.

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• For credit card donations call 03 8486 4200 and quote MVAUT09, or complete this form and either post or fax your credit card details.

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newsmivoice

The Canberra Times Friday, January 9, 2009

Taser guns debated after Vic boy’s death

...But the Mental Illness Fellowship of Victoria is unsure that tasers are the answer, and it’s calling for improvements in police training.

...ELIZABETH CROWTHER: They’ve done a lot of work in reviewing their training, but I’m not quite sure they’ve got it right. I don’t know that they have got enough community input into their training.

I’d like to see them have people who have mental illness or experiences where people have had a difficulty in

understanding instructions, come and talk to the police. I would like the police to actually understand what it’s like

to not be able to understand instructions.

The reason I say that is because this young man was sprayed with capsicum spray, most of us wouldn’t be able to continue,

but for whatever reason it didn’t affect this young man and that’s pretty symptomatic of somebody who’s having quite significant cognitive

understanding issues...

MI Fellowship’s role in the November opening of a new Step Up, Step Down centre in Canberra attracted coverage in the Canberra Times, left, as well as on local ABC radio and WIN TV.

MVA

UT0

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