Connecting Communities


Overview

The Connecting Community project will build capacity in three identified high needs communities in the Southern Brisbane region to provide sustainable supports for families and people affected by mental illness.

The project will work with the following communities:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD)
  • Disadvantaged young peoples

The project will focus on:

  • Raising community awareness and providing education to communities on the impact of mental illness on their families, carers, children and young people
  • Strengthening families and communities through the implementation of highly effective evidence based interventions which have been shown to deliver significant results in the areas of prevention and early intervention
  • Mapping the service needs of the communities, identifying gaps and building or strengthening linkages to a broad range of services to better meet the needs of the communities and their families
  • Building and training a volunteer support network in the identified communities to provide ongoing support for families and carers, children and young people affected by mental illness.

The project with develop lasting capacity within each of the identified communities through:

  • Greater understanding of the needs of communities
  • Greater understanding by the communities of the impacts of mental illness on families, carers, children and young people and where to get help and support
  • Development of an upskilled workforce in these communities to continue to implement effective prevention and early intervention activities
  • Streamlined referral pathways to a relevant range of services
  • Development of a trained and supported volunteer network to provide support to families, carers, children and young people affected by mental illness.

The project will be fully evaluated to identify effective strategies and learnings that will assist in transferring the model or parts thereof to other communities.

 

Objectives

The outcomes of this project include:

  1. Reduce the prevalence and severity of mental illness in Australia
  2. Reduce the prevalence of risk factors that contribute to the onset of mental illness and prevent longer term recovery
  3. Increase the proportion of people with an emerging or established mental illness who are able to access the right health care and other relevant community services at the right time with a particular focus on early intervention
  4. Increase the ability of people with a mental illness to participate in the community, employment, education and training, including through an access to stable accommodation.

 

Program Details

The key strategies of the project are:

  1. Increasing Community Awareness:  raising awareness of mental health through Mental Health First Aid Training, media and community education.
  2. Strengthening Families and Communities: delivery of Triple P and the FRIENDS for Life programs to practitioners and the development of a community volunteer network.
  3. Connecting to Services: establishing pathways with services

 

The three identified high needs communities in the region include:

  1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
  2. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
  3. Disadvantaged young people

 

 

The Connecting Communities Project is Offering Free Training in the Following:

 

      

Triple P Webpage 

Triple P Training  Expression of Interest

Discover Which Training is Best for You
(Triple P Decision Tree)

 

 

 

 

FRIENDS for Life Webpage

 

 

 

 

Mental Health First Aid Webpage

Adult MHFA EOI
Youth MHFA EOI

 

 

 

  

 

 

 


Contact Us

 

Ellen Heathwood

Kathleen Keighron

Emily Anderson

Program Manager

Program Manager
           (FRIENDS for Life)        
   
(Mental Health First Aid)

Program Manager
(Triple P)

(07) 3274 1886

(07) 3274 1886

(07) 3274 1886

 Email Ellen

 Email Kathleen

Email Emily