LODDON HEALTHY MINDS NETWORK http://loddonhealthyminds.com.au

Suicide Prevention – It’s Everyone’s Business Rural Strategies That Work!

Thursday 30 August

Presenter Update

Keynote speaker: Wayne Schwass Born in New Zealand and raised in Warnambool, Western , Wayne Schwass began playing Aussie Rules football at the age of ten. In 1986, Wayne began playing for the North Melbourne Football Club. Wayne played 282 games at the elite level for fourteen and a half years, both with the North Melbourne Football Club (1988-1997) and the (1998-2002). Since retiring in 2002, Wayne has established himself as a highly respected AFL broadcaster on TV, radio, print and online. However, in addition to his work within the sporting world, Wayne has also become a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. In 2006, Wayne founded the Sunrise Foundation, an organisation he founded after becoming one of the first AFL players to speak openly about his experience with depression. The Sunrise Foundation, which ran from 2007 and 2010, focused on delivering preventative education programs to secondary school students. More than 5,000 students participated in the foundation’s Headsmart program. Wayne’s passion for mental health advocacy led him to create Puka Up. Launched in 2017, Puka Up is a social enterprise focusing on mental health, emotional wellbeing and, importantly, suicide prevention. According to Wayne, the Puka Up vision is to create the environments for every person to have authentic and genuine conversations about mental health and emotional wellbeing. As well as Puka Up, Wayne also delivers his powerful and honest keynote speeches to countless mental health seminars and workshops, where his message never fails to resonate with audiences.

Conference Host: Cath Styles Cath combines her 25 years’ experience as a psychiatric nurse with her role as a comedian – an unusual combination. Cath combines these two experiences to create a dialogue around mental health that helps to reduce stigma. Cath presented her comedy show ‘The Accidental Cougar’ at this years’ Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Cath will host our conference and also head up the presentations in the afternoon.

Fiona Livingstone – Good Space: Community Suicide Prevention Program Good SPACE is a Suicide Prevention Program that aims to prevent suicide through community and clinical education. Formerly known as the Farm-Link Project, Good SPACE was established in 2007 in response to the high suicide rates among farmers. Since its inception, the project has focused on farmer suicide. Good SPACE aims to increase awareness about why people die by suicide, what leads a person into that space and what we can all do to be in a good space. The program helps communities and individuals to identify how they can improve their own mental health and wellbeing and how to increase resilience during tough times. Fiona Livingstone is the program coordinator for Good SPACE which is managed by the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, an initiative of the University of Newcastle. Having lived on a farm for over ten years Fiona understands first-hand the unique stressors of farming. Fiona also brings a special lived experience of suicide to the work. Fiona is committee to the prevention of suicide and believes that it involves the whole community, not just professionals. Fiona is passionate about educating communities in the awareness, understanding and prevention of suicide.

David Bakker - Digital tools to support mental health Digital tools to support mental health are becoming more prevalent and evidence is accumulating to support their efficacy. This presentation will highlight MoodMission, a free iOS and Android app for the prevention and management of depression and anxiety, and the encouragement of help-seeking. Other mental health websites and apps will be discussed and some suggestions will be provided on how to find evidence-based and engaging digital products designed to support mental health. Dr David Bakker is a practicing psychologist and founding director of mental health app MoodMission (moodmission.com). He is passionate about making evidence-based psychological techniques and mental health education more accessible to the public. David grew up in Launceston, Tasmania and moved to Hobart for his undergraduate and honours studies in psychology. He then worked for two years in rural mental health outreach before moving to Melbourne to pursue postgraduate studies at Monash University.

Alison Kennedy – The Ripple Effect Hear about the work being carried out by the National Centre for Farmer Health; what outcomes have been gained to date from the Ripple Effect project (plus future directions), some background and example digital stories from the project ‘From Inside the Farm Gate: Rural Women’s Stories of Thriving and Surviving’ and what new mental health projects are under development at the NCFH. Alison is a Behavioural Scientist who has lived and worked in Victoria’s rural farming community for the past 15 years. Her doctoral research explored the impact that suicide and accidental death have on members of Australian farming families. Alison’s role at the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) since 2010 has include research addressing alcohol misuse in farming communities, rural suicide prevention and suicide stigma reduction, and increasing the understanding of rural women’s experience of managing tough times. As a community educator, Alison has worked as part of the ‘Look Over the Farm Gate’ campaign, delivering health and wellbeing workshops to farmers and community members across the areas of Victoria experiencing tough times. She also regularly presents to community, health professionals and industry groups on issues of farmer health, wellbeing and safety.

Emily Slater – headspace: Mental Health with a youth focus. What is the ‘headspace’ model and what does headspace Bendigo do? Hear more about the mental health conditions prevalent in youth and some indicators for these. Learn how to have conversations with young people about suicide and find out about the supports available in the rural context and what online resources are recommended. Emily is a mental health clinician with a specific interest in suicide prevention and postvention. Emily has been working with young people who present with complex mental health presentations for 12 years and has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital CAMHS program and more recently headspace Bendigo.

Maree Dixon – LGBTIQ+ young people What can you do to support LGBTIQ+ young people and those who are gender questioning? Why is there need for support, what are the issues and challenges facing young LGBTIQ+ people? Maree has worked with vulnerable young people in Bendigo for 11 years as a trainer/assessor, mentor and life and career coach. Maree volunteered in the HEY project for two years and was later employed as the LGBTIQ+ Diversity worker at headspace Bendigo. Maree’s passion is working with vulnerable young people within the LGBTIQ+ community.

Alannah McGreggor – SPAN Central Victoria Alannah will discuss her journey from lived suicide experience to the development of the SPAN walk. Alannah is married with three children, and the joy of her life a 16 year old granddaughter. She arrived in Bendigo in 1978 to train as a nurse. Alannah worked for 9 years at Mount Alvernia Hospital then casual on call at the Bendigo Health Care Group until after the birth of her 3rd child when she began work in Aged Care doing night duty so she could be available for her family. Alannah has volunteered on school council when her children were young and has helped out in various areas of school life. She undertook Vic Swim training and helped to run the school swimming programme while her children attended primary school. Alannah, like most mothers, had hopes and dreams for her children’s future. All that changed when her only son and eldest child Stuart was bullied in his workplace. The sudden downward spiral into the black pit of depression was swift, confusing and very confronting. The effect this had on them as a family and individually was devastating. Their youngest daughter Angela was an impressionable teenager as she watched the brother she had looked up to and loved, change, leading to her ending her life. Just one month later Stuart succumbed to the depression he had battled when he too died by suicide. Alannah believes she was lucky to have a very supporting network of family and friends. She credits this and the help she received form Griefworks, (a support service for those bereaved by a workplace death) as the reason she is here today. After several years of support Alannah undertook some training and became a volunteer for Griefwork. She believed she could honour Angela and Stuart in a way that would help others in similar situations, making the choice to do some good from such a devastating experience. In 2011 Bette Phillips and Alannah approached Rod Case and Nicole Ferrie from the Bendigo Advertiser to start a SPAN group and hold a walk through the CBD of Bendigo to raise awareness of suicide in the community and to reduce the stigma associated with suicide. A committee was formed and work began on the first Suicide Prevention Awareness Network walk. There have been 5 successful walks to date with positive feedback form the community. The work done by SPAN was instrumental in bringing the Standby Response Service to Bendigo. Standby is a federally funded post- vention support service. Alannah is a volunteer member of the Standby Steering Committee. Alannah continues to work as a volunteer with SPAN, as a trained Lived Experience Speaker for Suicide Prevention Australia and is a support facilitator for the Compassionate Friends.

Sandra Goode and Marlene Lamprell - Carers as Collaborators What are the issues faced by mental health carers in the Loddon Mallee region and what can facilitate mental health carers being included as part of a care team? Find out more on how you can be more inclusive of mental health carers in your practice.

Sandra has worked in the community mental health sector for nine years, outreaching to consumers and their families and carers. Previously a Senior Worker within the Personal Helpers & Mentors program, Sandra is now the Mental Health Carer Support worker with Bendigo Community Health Services. Sandra is the current Secretary for the Loddon Mallee Mental Health Carers Network and is very active in helping families and carers understand and pre-plan for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Sandra has worked across the Mt Alexander, Central Goldfields and Bendigo Shires and is looking forward to connecting more with mental health carers in other parts of the Loddon Mallee Region. Marlene is the Manager of the Mental Health and Disability programs at Anglicare Victoria and has worked in the mental health field for approximately 20 years. The programs in Marlene’s department include Planned and Flexible respite, Specialist Mental Health and Housing Service, Mental Health Community Support Service, Disability Support Service, Personal Helpers and Mentors and Partners in Recovery Program. As a Mental Health and Disabiity Manager, Marlene’s main focus includes the management of the two respite programs, and she feels very privileged to be working with carers and care recipients.

Pauline Neil – Live4Life Pauline Neil has extensive experience in the youth sector, primarily in local government contexts where she has held senior management positions. Pauline has coordinated youth services for the City of Springvale and Greater Dandenong and is currently the Coordinator of Youth Development for Macedon Ranges Shire Council in regional Victoria. Early in Pauline's career her work was centred around direct support for young refugees, crisis support, youth housing and alcohol and other drugs. Pauline's current role seeks to develop the community's capacity to better understand and support young people in regional Victoria, requiring a different focus to that of metro Melbourne. Pauline is a cofounder of Live4Life, a unique suicide prevention initiative based around school and community partnerships. Pauline has coordinated a community wide response to the impact of Methamphetamine, engaging schools, health services, local government, Vic Police, G.P clinics and the community through the Macedon Ranges Local Safety Committee. Pauline has recently been awarded Master Instructor by Mental Health First Aid Australia.

Jeremy Forbes – HALT: A community approach to suicide prevention Hear about the origins of HALT, the community’s role in the establishment and continued expansion of HALT across regional and rural areas and how a whole of community approach is needed for suicide prevention. Jeremy is a trade qualified painter and decorator who Co-founded HALT with Catherine Pilgrim in 2013 after the suicide of a tradie in Castlemaine. HALT builds the bridge between the tradie community and both local and national support services. Jeremy was the recipient of a Westpac Social Change Fellowship in 2016. HALT won a state award with Worksafe Victoria in 2017 and Jeremy’s TED talk was released globally on the 24th May 2018. When he’s not working, Jeremy likes hiking, military history, the Collingwood football club and hanging out with mates.

Lauren Zappa and Jacalyn Grose RFDS: Psychological Service Pilot Project and Look Over the Farm Gate RFDS Psychological Service Pilot Project RFDS Victoria are currently implementing a two year pilot project that focuses on increasing access to mental health access services for people living in remote communities of Far East Gippsland. Funded in part by the Gippsland PHN, the pilot integrates with the local Bush Nurses Centres to promote a referral pathway, in line with the stepped model of care framework. Community members experiencing low level mental health needs can access free support via consultations with mental health clinicians. Up to two face-to-face sessions are available with ongoing session held via telehealth (video-conferencing). This presentation explores the strengths and challenges that RFDS Victoria has faced in the implementation of this pilot to date, and will discuss the improvements in progress to increase service utilisation and effectiveness. Look Over The Farm Gate In 2018, RFDS Victoria provided small grants to rural communities across Victoria allowing them to run local events that promoted mental wellbeing and social inclusion. RFDS has learnt some valuable lessons about the pros and cons of community mental health events and has used these lessons in developing their ongoing strategy for mental health.

Lauren has 10 years of experience planning, implementing and evaluating local and wide reaching public health, health promotion and social marketing initiatives. Lauren’s areas of experience include chronic disease prevention, healthy lifestyle promotion, men’s health, advocacy and disability access and inclusion, and people management. Jacalyn has over 8 years of experience working in a variety of health and human service roles. Her experience includes work in women’s health, migrant and asylum seeker health and advocacy, mental health, case work, youth services and in the design, implementation and evaluation of public health, health promotion and community development programs and initiatives.

Also Presenting: Rebecca Gardner – Department Health and Human Services: overarching Suicide Prevention Strategy Craig Holloway – VACCHO Murray PHN - Stop Stigma Campaign Jason Azzopardi – Vic Police and youth suicide prevention

General registration $250

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