Autorica: Kath Spencer
New drug and alcohol intervention to help hundreds
A new drug and alcohol intervention service is set to help hundreds of vulnerable people in the north.
Q Health will provide individual, couple and family counselling to anyone that identifies same-sex attracted and gender diverse, and is experiencing alcohol and drug issues.
The service will help people like 22-year-old Sasha who attends drummond street services.
“When I was stressed or fought with my family so they would accept me, I would take lots of drugs and it wasn’t good for me. All we needed was a safe space to get help. We’ve now been able to sort through our issues a lot better,” Sasha said.
Drummond street services chief executive Karen Field said partnering with Merri Health will help support a large group of at-risk people across the north.
“We know that there are minimal alcohol and drug specialist services for the queer community and yet, they are among the most disadvantaged groups. Discrimination, homophobia and transphobia all play a part and we’re here to address that. One size does not fit all when it comes to support; they face unique challenges – Q Health will look at the root causes of substance misuse,” Ms Field said.
Merri Health chief executive Nigel Fidgeon said the initiative would build on the many alcohol and drug services offered by Merri Health, including group education, early intervention for young people, counselling and drop-in support.
“Q Health will help us extend support to those most at-risk that have limited service access,” Mr Fidgeon said.
Q Health is a free and confidential service and will be available to anyone living in Brimbank, Darebin, Hume, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Moreland, Wyndham and Yarra. Anyone can self-refer to the service by calling 1800LGBTIQ or emailing [email protected].
Q Health is a partnership approach to meeting emerging needs of marginalised groups, from Rainbow Tick accredited provider, Merri Health and founder of Queerspace, drummond street services.
Ratnici duge ujedinite se!
Moreland je bio domaćin jednog od svojih najvećih događaja u duginim bojama u sklopu Međunarodnog dana borbe protiv homofobije, bifobije i transfobije (IDAHOBIT).
The live art exhibition saw more than 500 Moreland students and locals take part in the large-scale filming which we’ve released today, in support of IDAHOBIT. Messages of support are projected via a choreographed exhibition using rainbow umbrellas and captured via a drone.
Merri Health Russ Pirie, voditelj projekta YGLAM, rekao je da dugina povorka pokazuje Morelandovu predanost stvaranju sigurnije i uključivije zajednice.
„To je prilika za zajednicu da se okupi i pokaže da im je stalo do dobrobiti queer osoba koje žive u Morelandu, stvarajući sigurne prostore za sve“, rekao je gospodin Pirie.
Gradonačelnica Morelanda, Cr. Helen Davidson, izjavila je da će objavljivanje videa s događaja osigurati da Moreland nastavi priznavati i prihvaćati našu queer zajednicu i izvan IDAHOBIT-a.
„Jako je važno da se okupimo ne samo kada dolazi IDAHOBIT, već svaki dan.“
„Morelandova raznolikost jedna je od najvećih snaga općine i to je nešto što treba slaviti“, rekao je Cr Davidson.
IDAHOBIT je godišnja proslava seksualnih i rodnih različitosti, podizanje svijesti o nasilju i diskriminaciji koju doživljava ova skupina.
Događaj vodi Merri Health queer omladinski ansambl YGLAM, a podržava ga Gradsko vijeće Morelanda. Obilježava se godišnjica YGLAM-ove kampanje na društvenim mrežama pod nazivom This Campaign Is Queer koja podržava mlade queer osobe putem društvenih mreža.
Svi pripadamo: slavljenje ljudi
Upoznajte raznoliki tim koji stoji iza Merri Health .
Utorak, 20. ožujka obilježava Dan sklada, dan koji slavi kulturnu raznolikost – dan kulturnog poštovanja za sve koji Australiju nazivaju domom.
Hvala divnim članovima našeg tima koji se pojavljuju u ovom videu i dijele našu poruku; učimo jedni od drugih, poštujemo jedni druge i slavimo naše različitosti. Svi pripadamo.
Podijelite svoju poruku podrške Danu harmonije na našoj Facebook stranici i javite nam kako slavite.
YGLAM officer recognised for his work with young queer people
Congratulations to Russ Pirie, who was awarded as one of the 20 finalists in the world for The Commonwealth Youth Worker Award 2016!
As the YGLAM Project Officer, he has led its theatre programme for young queer people, as a way of supporting them, and developing their drama skills and self-confidence.
Alongside of this year’s theatre production, YGLAM have been working on #ThisCampaignIsQueer, a social media campaign aimed to show young queer people that they are not alone.
Keep up the fabulous work, Russ!
Residents’ labour of love
Residents have had their artwork, a mosaic table, chosen by Minster Martin Foley to feature on his 2016 Christmas card!
The artwork creation was part of a garden transformation by The Queens Lodge art group, who set out to create a communal and relaxing space for residents of the lodge with the support of Merri Health and Arts Access.
The Queens Lodge is a supported residential service that offer accommodation and low level of care for people who need support in everyday life, such as people who are frail or have a disability.
After 18 months of hard work, the residents now have a space that they can enjoy! The project, named “Bringing Country Home,” had residents involved in the design, creation and helping in the manual labour of the garden.
The garden is an important space for the residents as it is where most of them meet and walk through on a daily basis. As such, different spaces were created so that there were quiet and social areas.
Not only has this been a busy time for the residents, it has been a journey that has empowered them to have ownership of the space in which they live. The residents said that it has been a rewarding and productive process.
The Queens Lodge art group has existed for a number of years and in this time has developed many projects. The first of these was “Connecting to Country,” which had the residents creating art to explore their relationship to Australia’s native landscape.
To find out more about how we support Supported Residential Services and its residents, go to mental health services.
Merri Health pokreće novi alat za analizu spola
Merri Health stvorio je novi Alat za analizu spolova kako bi pomogao osoblju u primjeni rodne perspektive u dizajnu i provedbi programa.
Timovi mogu koristiti alat tijekom planiranja, dizajniranja, pregleda i/ili evaluacije projekata kako bi osigurali da su uključivi, rodno osjetljivi i pristupačni.
Alat se oslanja na različite instrumente iz više organizacija, s odmakom od binarnog jezika kako bi se pružila inkluzivnija definicija roda. Potiče osoblje da razmotri niz potreba i iskustava ljudi u zajednici u odnosu na njihov rodni identitet.
Cassie Zurek, službenica za promicanje zdravlja u Merri Health , rečeno je da će korištenjem ovog alata osoblje moći izrađivati projekte koji su sigurniji za sve ljude, uključujući projekte koji odgovaraju na rodne nejednakosti u našoj zajednici.
„Ovaj je projekt nastao iz prepoznate potrebe za alatom koji bi pomogao osoblju da aktivno i namjerno osigura da Merriin rad uvijek bude uključiv i da odgovara potrebama ljudi svih spolova“, rekla je Cassie.
„Svi alati koje smo mogli pronaći koristili su vrlo binarnu definiciju roda, pa smo odlučili prilagoditi vlastitu. Članovi tima koji sudjeluju u procesu mogu očekivati duboke rasprave o rodu i jednakosti. To je refleksivni proces koji vam omogućuje učenje usput.“
Ovaj projekt će nam pomoći da radimo na jačanju i formaliziranju naše predanosti rodnoj uključivosti i sigurnosti. Veselimo se njegovoj provedbi.