Dear friends and colleagues

I'm pleased to write to you all with an update on the National Multicultural Mental Health Project.

Priorities

In 2018 we were strongly focussed on bringing people together for this highly collaborative project, including mental health consumers and carers from multicultural backgrounds as well as key stakeholders from across the mental health and multicultural sectors.

Together, we have begun a significant program of work which builds on the achievements of previous national projects, and aims towards an equitable mental health system and improved mental health and wellbeing for Australia’s multicultural population.

In 2019 we will continue to work together to progress this important work, including:

• Providing support for organisations to evaluate and improve their cultural responsiveness through further development and promotion of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia
• Establishing, maintaining and promoting a quality-assured knowledge exchange and repository platform on the project’s website
• Increasing mental health awareness, knowledge and capacity in CALD communities
• Mapping available evidence-based resources and tools and from these findings, identifying priorities and developing new resources and training
• Establishing a data collection and reporting strategy

Initial efforts will focus on the development of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia into a series of modules. This includes reaching out to Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and mental health services across Australia, to help tailor the material to meet a range of service and community needs. Developing a new name, brand and website for the project will also be an early focus, and we look forward to launching the project’s new resources to you all in mid-2019.

Collaboration

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the key groups and teams who will be driving this work program.

Project Alliance

The Project Alliance provides high level guidance and makes strategic decisions about the project's direction. The Project Alliance brings together senior representatives from three national peak bodies: Mental Health Australia, the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA). Importantly, it also includes a consumer and a carer representative, as nominated by the members of the CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Mental Health Consumer & Carer Group

The CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group is comprised of a consumer and a carer representative from each state and territory of Australia. The Group includes a passionate, energised and diverse mix of voices and will provide advice to the Alliance based on members' lived experience and connections to their communities.

CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group shown here with members of the Project Team

Stakeholder Group

The Stakeholder Group includes senior representatives from across the multicultural, mental health and related sectors. The Group will provide advice to the Alliance based on members' expertise and links to multicultural communities and the mental health workforce.

Stakeholder Group meeting with Mental Health Australia staff

Project Team

The Project Team is based at Mental Health Australia and includes myself as National Project Manager along with Policy and Project Officer, Kaitlin Saunders and Project and Administration Officer, Charlene Singh. Staff at FECCA and NEDA also provide support to the Project. Our team can be contacted on 02 6285 3100 or at multicultural@mhaustralia.org.

Thank you once again for your interest and support for the National Multicultural Mental Health Project. We look forward to keeping you updated with news and opportunities as the project progresses.
 
Warm regards 
Ruth

As the year comes to a close, I’m pleased to share an update on the National Multicultural Mental Health Project, and look to what’s ahead for 2019. 

Since the public announcement of the project in May this year, our focus has been on coming together with lived experience and professional experts from across the mental health and multicultural sectors. Together, we’ve shaped and begun a significant program of work which we’re confident will help us move towards a more equitable mental health system, which reflects and responds well to the needs of Australia’s multicultural population. 

A key focus of our work program is on the redevelopment and ongoing national promotion of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (the Framework), which helps services to evaluate and enhance their cultural responsiveness. We look forward to continuing to reach out to Primary Health Networks, mental health services and interested providers in 2019, and to begin a series of dedicated workshops on the Framework around Australia. 

Next year will also see the redevelopment of the project’s website into an up-to-date knowledge network on multicultural mental health. This will involve mapping what evidence-based resources and tools are currently available, and identifying priorities and resource gaps which need to be addressed. We look forward to launching the project’s new branding and website during 2019. 

Moving forward, the project will continue to have a strong focus on working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities around mental health awareness and stigma reduction, and an additional focus on establishing a data collection and reporting strategy. 

We are delighted to have already seen the project energised and enhanced by the contributions of our CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group and Stakeholder Group. We are also deeply grateful for our ongoing alliance with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) in delivering this project. 

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Mental Health Australia and project partners are calling on consumers and carers from multicultural communities to join an advisory group that will be a key source of advice to the National Multicultural Mental Health Project. The project represents a national focus on mental health for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and aims to aims to support service providers to improve cultural responsiveness and accessibility. Click here to find out more and apply.