Penulis: 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.
Para pejuang pelangi bersatu!
Moreland menjadi tuan rumah salah satu acara pelangi terbesarnya sebagai bagian dari Hari Internasional Melawan Homofobia, Biphobia, dan Transfobia (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.
Project officer YGLAM Merri Health, Russ Pirie, mengatakan bahwa prosesi pelangi ini menunjukkan komitmen Moreland untuk menciptakan komunitas yang lebih aman dan inklusif.
"Ini adalah kesempatan bagi komunitas untuk berkumpul dan menunjukkan bahwa mereka peduli dengan kesejahteraan orang-orang queer yang tinggal di Moreland, menciptakan ruang yang aman untuk semua," kata Mr Pirie.
Walikota Moreland, Cr Helen Davidson, mengatakan bahwa perilisan video acara ini akan memastikan Moreland terus mengakui dan menerima komunitas queer kami di luar IDAHOBIT.
"Sangat penting bagi kita untuk berkumpul bersama tidak hanya ketika IDAHOBIT, tetapi setiap hari.
"Keragaman Moreland adalah salah satu kekuatan terbesar kota ini dan hal ini patut dirayakan," kata Cr Davidson.
IDAHOBIT merupakan perayaan tahunan atas keragaman seksual dan gender, meningkatkan kesadaran akan kekerasan dan diskriminasi yang dialami kelompok ini.
Acara ini dipimpin oleh kelompok pemuda queer Merri Health, YGLAM, dan didukung oleh Dewan Kota Moreland. Acara ini menandai ulang tahun kampanye media sosial YGLAM, This Campaign Is Queer, yang mendukung kaum muda queer melalui koneksi media sosial.
Kita semua adalah bagian dari: merayakan orang lain
Temui tim yang beragam di belakang Merri Health.
Selasa, 20 Maret menandai Hari Harmoni, hari yang merayakan keragaman budaya - hari penghormatan budaya bagi semua orang yang menyebut Australia sebagai rumah.
Terima kasih kepada anggota tim kami yang luar biasa yang muncul dalam video ini dan membagikan pesan kami; kami belajar dari satu sama lain, menghormati satu sama lain, dan merayakan perbedaan kami. Kita semua adalah satu.
Bagikan pesan dukungan Anda terhadap Harmony Day di halaman Facebook kami dan beri tahu kami bagaimana Anda merayakannya.
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 meluncurkan Alat Analisis Gender baru
Merri Health telah menciptakan Alat Analisis Gender baru untuk membantu staf dalam menerapkan lensa gender pada desain dan implementasi program.
Tim dapat menggunakan alat ini selama perencanaan, desain, tinjauan dan/atau evaluasi proyek untuk memastikan bahwa proyek tersebut inklusif, responsif gender, dan dapat diakses.
Alat ini menggunakan instrumen yang berbeda di berbagai organisasi, dengan beralih dari bahasa biner untuk memberikan definisi gender yang lebih inklusif. Alat ini mendorong staf untuk mempertimbangkan berbagai kebutuhan dan pengalaman orang-orang di masyarakat, terkait dengan identitas gender mereka.
Cassie Zurek, Petugas Promosi Kesehatan di Merri Health, mengatakan bahwa dengan menggunakan alat ini, para staf dapat menghasilkan proyek yang lebih aman bagi semua orang, termasuk proyek-proyek yang menanggapi ketidakadilan gender di masyarakat.
"Proyek ini berawal dari kebutuhan yang teridentifikasi akan alat yang akan membantu staf untuk secara aktif dan sengaja memastikan pekerjaan Merri selalu inklusif dan responsif terhadap kebutuhan orang-orang dari semua jenis kelamin," kata Cassie.
"Semua alat yang kami temukan menggunakan definisi gender yang sangat biner, jadi kami memutuskan untuk mengadaptasi definisi kami sendiri. Anggota tim yang berpartisipasi dalam proses ini dapat berharap untuk berdiskusi secara mendalam tentang gender dan kesetaraan. Ini adalah proses reflektif yang memungkinkan Anda untuk belajar di sepanjang prosesnya."
Proyek ini akan membantu kami untuk memperkuat dan memformalkan komitmen kami terhadap inklusivitas dan keselamatan gender. Kami berharap dapat segera mengimplementasikannya".