Novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)
For comprehensive information about COVID-19 including information in a wide variety of languages and information about maintaining your mental health at this time visit our COVID-19 and mental wellbeing - Resources for CALD communities webpage here.
National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Released
The National Mental Health Commission has developed the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy as part of the Australian Government’s long-term national health plan. The Strategy uses four focus areas to outline the requirements for an effective system of care for children: family and community, service system, education settings and evidence and evaluation. It provides a framework to guide crucial investment in the mental health and wellbeing of children and their families. For more information and to view the strategy click here.
FUSE 2021
Hosted by the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN), FUSE is Australia’s bi-annual national multicultural youth leadership summit. FUSE is an opportunity for young Australians from refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking backgrounds to build and apply leadership and advocacy skills, expand their networks, and connect with peers from across Australia. FUSE is designed to equip delegates with the skills, confidence, knowledge and networks to engage in creating changes in their local communities, and at the state and national levels. If you are aged 18 - 25, living in Australia and from a migrant or refugee background you are invited to apply for FUSE 2021. Applications close 1 NOVEMBER 2021. Click here for more information about applying for FUSE.
Multicultural Youth Champion Project - Expressions of Interest
NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service is looking for multicultural young people to be a part of a peer-based social media campaign. Participants will create short videos to promote COVID-19 vaccination and wellbeing messages through their social media platforms. All participants must be able to commit to:
- Attending two online workshops in early October (2 x 2 hour workshops)
- Producing up to four short videos (30 sec to 1 minute) over a three month period (October – December 2021)
All workshops and video recordings are to be done online. You will be paid to attend the workshop $50 per hour and a $100 flat rate for each video.
Closing date 11 October 2021
Click here to express your interest in participating.
National Carers Week 10 - 16 October 2021
Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental health condition, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged – anyone at any time can become a carer.
National Carers Week is an opportunity to raise community awareness among all Australians about the diversity of carers and their caring roles. This year’s theme is ‘Millions of Reasons to Care’ which aims to bring attention to the 2.65 million carers around the country who provide outstanding care and support to their loved ones.
Learn more about National Carers Week here.
#Chatstarter: Helping parents and young people support each other
#ChatStarter is a recently launched online national program for young people and parents. #ChatStarter has been activated in response to worrying increases in distress among young people during the current COVID-19 pandemic and increased restrictions. The program was designed with the support of parents and young people and highlights just how critical conversations can be in helping identify when someone is going through a difficult time and connecting them to the right type of care, before crisis point. For more information about #Chatstarter click here.
Embracing Hopefulness during COVID-19
The Transcultural Mental Health Centre is inviting participants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to join a series of 2 hour online poetry workshops using Microsoft Teams. The theme for the poetry workshops is 'Embracing Hopefulness' during COVID-19. The aim of the poetry workshops is to allow participants to express their experiences of hopefulness during COVID-19 through poetry.
The workshops will be held in October and November 2021. Click here for more information and to express your interest.
R U OK? Day 9 September 2021
9 September 2021 is R U OK? Day. R U OK? Day encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times in their lives.
R U OK? contributes to suicide prevention efforts by encouraging people to invest more time in their personal relationships and building the capacity of informal support networks – friends, family and colleagues - to be alert to those around them, have a conversation if they identify signs of distress or difficulty and connect someone to appropriate support, long before they're in crisis.
For more information about R U OK? Day visit the website here.
COVID-19 + Vaccine Q & A Webinar in Assyrian
Join the COVID-19 + Vaccine Q&A Webinar in Assyrian presented by STARTTS and the Assyrian Resource Centre. The panel will feature doctors answering questions in Assyrian on Saturday, 21 August 2021 at 6:30 pm.
Register here
Wishing you a Blessed and Safe Hijri New Year
With Islamic New Year happening this year during lockdown in NSW and many parts of Australia, NSW Health is encouraging everyone to celebrate in a COVID safe way with social media tiles about having a safe Hijri in Arabic, Bangla, Bosnian, Burmese. Dari, English, Persian/ Farsi, Hazaragi, Indonesian, Somali, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu. Click here to view the social media tiles.
Census coming 10 August 2021!
Every five years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics counts every person and home in Australia. This is called the Census. The Census is on Tuesday 10 August 2021.
The Census form asks questions about things like your age, country of birth, religion, ancestry and background, language used at home, work and education. Everyone in Australia should complete the Census including: visa holders, international visitors and international students studying at Australian universities. When filling in the Census, you need to include everyone who is staying in your home on Census night. For further information about the Census in multiple languages click here.
2021 Community Engagement Grants Program for Multicultural Health Week now Open
The theme of Multicultural Health Week 2021 is cancer screening. Small grants of up to $1,000 are being offered to local health districts and non-government/community organisations to support community engagement activities with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, focussing on increasing knowledge of and confidence in participating in cancer screening. Applications close 30 August 2021.
Click here for more information about the grants and to make an application.
Wishing you a blessed and safe Eid-Al-Adha
NSW Health has developed social media tiles outlining how you can celebrate Eid-Al-Adha safely during the current lockdown. View all the resources here or select your language from the list below.
Arabic (العربية), Bengali, Bosnian (bosanski / босански), Burmese (မြန်မာစာ), Dari (دريلو), Farsi (فارسی), Hazaragi (آزرگی), Indonesian (bahasa), Somali (Somali), Swahili (Kiswahili), Turkish (Türkçe) and Urdu (اُردُو).
You can also view a video message from Sheikh Nami Farhat, Islamic Community of Sydney on Youtube.
English https://youtu.be/vZmc2lAiE1Q or Arabic https://youtu.be/uf_iR_T5stY
TheMHS Conference Bursaries for Consumers and Carers
The upcoming TheMHS Melbourne conference will bring the mental health community back together to share our learnings, insights and innovations.
The voices of people living with mental ill-health, and carers and families, will be at the core of this event. TheMHS has partnered with the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance (NMHCA) and Mental Health Carers Australia to provide conference bursaries to consumers and carers to participate in the conference.
Applications close Tuesday 27 July 2021
For more information or to start your application click here.
FECCA COVID-19 Small Grants
The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council of Australia (FECCA) is working with the Federal Government and other organisations to administer the CALD COVID-19 Health Small Grants Fund. This Fund will help multicultural community groups to lead grassroots communication activities around COVID-19 and the vaccination rollout, targeting CALD communities. Multicultural community groups or organisations can access small grants of $2500, $3500 or $5000 to help protect their
communities against COVID-19. Applications will close at the end of January 2022.
For more information about the grants and to make an application visit the FECCA website or attend an information webinar via Zoom on 25 June at 1:00pm.
South Asian Wellbeing Forum 19 June 2021
You are invited to the South Asian Wellbeing Forum presented by NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (MHCS) in partnership with NSW Health, Mental Health Commission NSW and Transcultural Mental Health Centre. Hear from a range of expert speakers about mental health and wellbeing and ways to support the community during the pandemic. The forum will showcase multilingual COVID-19 resources and a video
featuring the Photovoice Project by South Asian Women.
Saturday 19 June 2021
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Marsden Room at PARKROYAL, 30 Phillip St, Parramatta NSW 2150
Register here
Download a flyer about the event here (PDF 1143KB)
Refugee Week 20 - 26 June 2021 'Unity – the way forward’
The volatility of life in recent times has shown all of us the importance of working together to thrive, survive and to progress. Refugee Week this year builds on this by encouraging us all, both existing and emerging communities, to move forward together.
Refugee Week is an annual campaign held in conjunction with World Refugee Day on June 20 that aims to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and people seeking asylum, to focus on how we can provide a safe and welcoming environment for refugees and to celebrate how refugees and refugee-like communities have enriched our own diverse communities with their many positive contributions. For more information visit the Refugee Week website.
Mental Health Month Small grants 2021
Each year WayAhead offers a number of small grants of $500 and $1000 in a range of categories to assist the staging of mental health promotion activities or events during October’s Mental Health Month. The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse category focuses on activities that target culturally and linguistically diverse communities. In awarding the grants the judges are looking for creative or innovative projects from small, community-led organisations or groups, which respond to the needs of target communities. Projects should have a clear mental health focus and a strong link to the Mental Health Month theme (“Tune In”). Applications will be accepted from not for profit organisations in NSW with an ABN.
For more information and to submit an application visit the Mental Health Month Website.
Families in Australia Survey
The Australian Institute of Family Studies is conducting its third survey of Australian families. This survey focuses on family wellbeing and family characteristics. The Institue is asking Australians 18 years and over to tell them about ways in which they and their families are managing in terms of their relationships, connections, the support they give and receive, and also their work and finances. Find out more about the survey here.
Expressions of Interest for Arabic, Nepali, Samoan or Korean speakers for a media project
The Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW (ECCNSW) is offering paid positions to bilingual individuals to create recorded interviews about living well with a disability. Interviews will be recorded with people of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds living with a disability in NSW and ACT, and with guest speakers who have information to share about mainstream resources that can support living well.
If you are interested in participating in this project and speak Arabic, Nepali, Samoan or Korean click here for more information.
End of life needs in your community
If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or from an Arabic, Hindi, or Mandarin-speaking background and living in Western Sydney the Western Sydney University and the Western Sydney Local Health District wants to understand your experience, knowledge, beliefs and cultural needs at end of life. You can participate in this research by completing a quick online survey, or by participating in a gentle interview using photographs to tell the researchers about your experience of caring for someone at the end of their life. Find out more about this research here.
Refugee camp in my neighbourhood
'Refugee camp in my neighbourhood' is a health specific tour through a simulated refugee camp experience. Aimed at health professionals participants will experience the journey of a refugee and gain a better understanding of the challenges they face as they arrive in Australia. Tours are delivered by guides from a range of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, and NSW Refugee Health staff. Download a flyer about the tours here (PDF 952KB)
When: 29 July and 11 August 2021
Time: 9:30am and 2.30pm (approximately 2.5 hours each)
Cost: $35 (use discount code HEALTH)
Where: Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, Parramatta Campus, Rydalmere.
Book online: bit.ly/3vfUITX
TheMHS Awards 2021
The Mental Health Service Awards of Australia and New Zealand recognise innovation, research excellence, best practice and lived experience leadership in mental health services. They also aim to reduce stigma by acknowledging responsible media reporting of mental health issues and encourage others to promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing. There are three categories of Awards: Service & Program, Research and Exceptional Contribution - Deadline for submissions: 8th June 2021, Wellbeing in the Workplace - Deadline for submissions: 8th June 2021 and Media Awards - Deadlines for submissions: 29th June 2021.
For more information and to make a submission visit the TheMHS website here.
APNOR Statement on the position of refugees in India
The Asia Pacific Network of Refugees (APNOR) which makes the voice of oppressed and helpless refugees heard around the world, has released a statement calling for quick action to protect and save the lives of refugees and asylum seekers from the second waves of Coronavirus in India. APNOR recognises the plight of Coronavirus in India, and the helplessness and the threat it poses to the health and wellbeing of refugees and is calling on International communities and other civil institutions to collaborate and assist the refugees and asylum seekers in India, who are really at the heart of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Read the full statement here. (PDF 289KB)
Mental health and wellbeing Budget 2021-22
National Mental Health Commission Chair, Lucy Brogden AM, has described the 2021-2022 Federal Budget as, “a genuine shift in our national response to mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention.”
Today’s $2.3 billion budget announcement presents a commitment to a more preventive, compassionate and person-centred mental health and suicide prevention system.
“In 2021, more Australians than ever are recognising the importance of seeking help for their mental ill health, and governments and the sector are united in their commitment to meet this need,” Mrs Brogden said.
To view the Australian Mental Health Commission's full response to the 2021-22 Fedearal Budget click here.
Voices of Australia
Voices of Australia is an ongoing national study that seeks to highlight the voices of minority communities in Australian research. This project seeks to give a voice to first- and second-generation Australians who are not usually well represented in surveys. The aim is to better understand our society by including the diverse opinions and experiences of Australia’s multicultural communities.
Members of Voices of Australia will be invited to participate in surveys every three months or so on important social issues that impact their lives. It is a great opportunity to share personal views and influence policy outcomes for migrant communities. If you are an Australian resident, 18 years of age or older and a first or second generation Australian and are interested in becoming involved click here for more information (PDF 141KB).
Stay COVID-safe this Ramadan
NSW Health and the NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (MHCS) in partnership with the Multicultural Health Service in Western Sydney Local Health District have produced the ‘Stay COVID-safe this Ramadan’ Video message in English from Religious and Community Leaders - to help remind people to celebrate Ramadan in a COVID-safe way. The video can be viewed via Youtube or Vimeo.
You can also download social media tiles available in English, Arabic, Bangla, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Bosnian Dari, Hazaragi, Farsi, Turkish, Urdu, Somali and Swahili that encourage everyone to keep the community safe – even if you have mild COVID-19 symptoms, get tested and stay at home until you get a negative test result. The social media tiles can be downloaded the NSW Health Website.
Stronger Together Grants Now Open
The Multicultural NSW Stronger Together Grants Program aims to support multicultural projects and events across New South Wales that foster community harmony and celebrate cultural diversity. There are two categories of grants, Stronger Together Project Grants and Festivals and Events Grants
Applications close Thursday 20 May 2021
For more information visit the Multicultural NSW Website
2021 NSW Humanitarian Awards – Nominations Now Open!
Each year, as part of National Refugee Week in June, the NSW Humanitarian Awards are held as an opportunity to acknowledge and thank those who have made an exceptional positive contribution towards refugee issues in the state of NSW. The Humanitarian Awards also provide a chance to further promote the hard work and achievements of both individuals and organisations in various fields that play a substantial role in improving the lives of refugees. Anyone can nominate, and anyone can be nominated! Nominations for 2021 close COB Friday 21 May 2021.
For more information and to make an application click here.
CALD Assist communication app
CALD Assist is a free app downloadable from Apple App store and Google play Store, which can assist clinicians communicate with people with limited English proficiency. Developed by Western Health in partnership with CSIRO, CALD Assist does not replace professional interpreters, but can assist overcome basic language barriers when interpreters are not available. More information about the app available here.
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