From the CEO
Hello everyone
I’m excited to announce that we will be hosting our Symposium this year on World Schizophrenia Awareness Day Wednesday 24 May. Leading advocates, researchers, and practitioners will join us to discuss the theme, ‘Rebuilding a better mental health system together’. With a major review of the NDIS currently underway, One Door wants to emphasise the critical role of the NDIS in supporting people living with psychosocial disabilities, as well as highlight the gaps where better support is still needed. We hope that together, we can create a better mental health system for all!
This focus builds on the response submitted to the independent review by the Australia Psychosocial Alliance (APA) of which One Door is a member. This joint submission calls for investment in ensuring that the NDIS is recovery-oriented, providing a program of psychosocial supports outside the NDIS, and improved access to housing and supports for people with a psychosocial disability.
Canterbury Head to Health opened its doors earlier this year, offering free and immediate support for anyone in the region who is experiencing distress or mental health concerns. In the lead up to the opening, the One Door team facilitated a roundtable discussion with the Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, Riverwood Community Centre, Canterbury City Community Centre, Sydney Local Health District Mental Health, Muslim Women Australia, Kids Xpress, as well as Head to Health service users. The discussion built on our local partnerships and has helped ensure that the service offers comfortable and flexible supports for everyone in the community. I look forward to welcoming these partners and the Hon Emma McBride Federal MP, and Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to our centre this Friday 10th to officially launch the service.
One Door Illawarra Clubhouse are proud recipients of funding from the Illawarra International Women’s Day committee to support our program for women. The Bloom Project is a program supporting women survivors of domestic and family violence to rebuild their sense of dignity, confidence, and self-esteem. We look forward to working in partnership with the Illawarra International Women’s Day committee in the upcoming year.
Over the next couple of months, all One Door staff will be attending the ‘Foundations for Building Trauma Awareness’ training with Blue Knot, the National Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma. We hope that this training will build trauma-informed capacity for our staff and continue to ensure we apply a trauma-informed lens in our work.
We know that relationships are the foundation of good lives. The Mental Health Commission NSW and One Door have recently commenced a collaborative demonstration project, Circles of Connection, aimed at positively impacting the quality of life and experiences of loneliness for people living with mental health concerns. The project focuses on:
- Reducing loneliness through working to understand what is important to people and increasing connection to people, places, and things that matter.
- Facilitating unique lives lived well, being responsive to the whole person, their choices, and all the factors that impact their wellbeing.
- Focusing on people’s strengths, resources, skills, and assets so that each and every one of us can thrive.
- Supporting people to utilise and enhance their existing support networks so that people are supported in the face of adversity
- Creating connections to as many people as possible, using the principles of hope, self-determination, agency, inclusion, and choice.
- Weaving lasting informal weak and strong connections and friendships into people’s lives.
Finally, our popular ‘Staying Connected When Emotions Run High’ training for carers and health professionals is also back in 2023. Keep an eye out for more information!
Until next month…
Kathi