mifnq 2012 annual report

The 2011 – 2012 Annual Report for Mental IllnessFellowship NQ Inc, was designed and compiled byDeborah Wilson, Corporate Development Manager

Compilation Date: 02 October 2012

Annual Report 2011/12







2 | MIFNQ Annual Return 2011/12

CONTENTSMIFNQ Organisation, Mission, Values & Vision......................................................................................3

President’s Report...................................................................................................................................4

Treasurer’s Report ..................................................................................................................................5

CEO Report..............................................................................................................................................5

Cairns Mental Health Carers’ Support Hub.............................................................................................7

Community & Education Support Services .............................................................................................9

Mackay Regional Office ........................................................................................................................11

- Day to Day Living Program.............................................................................................................11

- Well Ways Program........................................................................................................................12

Rehabilitation Services - Townsville......................................................................................................13

Well Ways Program...............................................................................................................................18

Schizophrenia Awareness Week ...........................................................................................................22

Government Funding Bodies ................................................................................................................25

Non-Government Funding Bodies ........................................................................................................25

Donations..............................................................................................................................................25

MIFNQ’s Organisational Structure........................................................................................................26

Management Committee..................................................................................................................26

Volunteers / Presenters / Facilitators ...............................................................................................26

Staffing Structure ..............................................................................................................................27

Annexure “A” Financials.......................................................................................................................28

MIFNQ Annual Return 2011/12 | 3

MIFNQ Organisation, Mission, Values & VisionMental Illness Fellowship NQ Inc. (MIFNQ) was formed in 1986 by and for people living withschizophrenia and other Mental Illnesses, their families and carers. The Fellowship works to supportpeople with Mental Illness and their families to lead full and meaningful lives in the communities by: Working towards reducing the restrictions and social stigma associated with Mental Illness,

enabling people affected and impacted to experience ordinary life opportunities. Improving the lives of people living with Mental Illness, their carers and families through

knowledge building and skills development via information, education, advocacy, personaldevelopment activities, encouraging input into Mental Health reform, networking, social links,community connectedness and provision of recovery oriented services.

Improving community-based Mental Health services through brokerage of new services andcollaborative partnerships that recognise the interdependence of the individual, professional,family and community.

Supporting carers in continuing their caring role through increasing the supply of community-based respite options, programs and services.

Advocating in key areas of housing, employment, education, research and support.

FREE Service Provisions: Information Support Non-clinical Counselling Education Referral Advocacy

Supported and long-term accommodation Rehabilitation and Social Programs Library Support Groups Newsletter Volunteer Program

MissionThe Fellowship aims to reduce community restrictions on ordinary life opportunities experienced bypeople who live with mental illness and to improve the lives of people who live with mental illnessby increasing the quality quantity and appropriateness of services available to them. We also aim toimprove treatment services through the recognition and acceptance of the interdependence of theindividual, family, professional, carer and community contributions while providing support in agrowing range of services and program.

ValuesTrust, Respect, Openness, Equity and Fairness, Flexibility, Commitment, Communication,Responsiveness and Participation.

VisionOur vision is of a society where Mental Illness is understood and accepted, where all communitymembers work as a team to integrate all individuals, regardless of social, mental, emotional and/orphysical status.


President’s ReportLast year was our first year under the leadership of Jeremy Audas, during which we consolidated;building our organisation while we waited for things beyond our control to happen. We waited forthe promised increased funding for Mental Health and also for the formalities of governments toallow us to start our new Townsville building [More on these shortly].

But we did not just sit around waiting. We were constantly seeking new ways to extend the reach ofour services and to find funding sources to do this. One way we have gone is to look at how we canform partnerships and collaborations which do most to spread our good work further. Jeremy hasmore to say about this in his CEO report.

Our organisational structures were examined and are being strengthened to ensure that the far-flung corners are not left unsupported and to ensure that we are one strong organisation in manyplaces, sharing a vision and living up to the one high standard in everything we do. We continuedthe formalisation of our procedures and the move towards independent accreditation, bothnecessary if we are to satisfy funding bodies and have our procedures and standards up to bestpractice.

On a national level, our other Fellowships, in all states and territories, continue to work more closelytogether and to support our national body, Metal Illness Fellowship of Australia, to set nationalstandards which we all live up to, and to have national influence through contact with the FederalGovernment and its departments and other national organisations. Our merger with Mental IllnessEducation Queensland has extended our reach. Now, as ‘Living Proof’, we continue this good workin a way that should be sustainable over many years to come.

There are many other plans afoot for the coming year, which result from building relationships withorganisations, governments, politicians and others. Through such mergers, partnerships andcollaborations, we can increase the reach of our services and maintain uniform standards of quality,without losing touch with our local focus, our local communities and our local people.

Our sector seems to have escaped the worst of the cuts in State funding resulting from the change ofGovernment in Queensland. Our present recurrent funding, both State and Federal, is secure for thecurrent year at least, with the promise of more Federal programs to come very shortly.

We are now as ready as we can be to step up to the challenge of increased government funding inmental health, though we still have more to do to build our core infrastructure: more strategicplanning, more formalisation and standardisation of our policies, procedures and activities, andmore space for more staff. We need also to build our Board so that it can take an increasing role insupporting our growth into new programs and areas.

Alas, we have still to see the first shovel of dirt dug for our new Townsville headquarters, but,despite having to acknowledge my false-optimism in last year’s report, we can confidently say thatwork will commence very shortly and, by next year’s report, we will have moved into our newbuilding. This will be a great relief for our long-suffering Townsville staff and clients will finally havethe space they need to accomplish more of the great things for our community. We will also belooking to improve the space for our growing Cairns and Mackay centres.

But, no matter how much bigger and more formalised our fellowship grows, we have the samevision and duty as we have always had; to serve our people as only we can. We are the carers, theprofessionals and indeed the clients.

I thank Jeremy Audas for his leadership and all of the staff and volunteers of our Fellowship all overour region for their dedication, their compassion and their ability to cope with the changes ofgrowing into a modern, large organisation while still understanding the needs of our individualpeople.

Bob James, President


Treasurer’s ReportThank you to all our members for all their effort during the year. A special mention to CherrieKrajacic our Corporate Services Manager, who always goes far beyond her duties producing ourfinancial reports. Over the year we have been fine tuning the monthly financial reports so that theyare informative, easy to read for non-Accountants and comparative to Budget for all our services. Ithank all of our Committee Members for their input for these reports.

We have our accounts independently audited every year. We thank the team at WHK NQ for theaudit and their assistance with any queries. A copy of the audited report is included in our AnnualReport.

Revenue for the year ended 30/6/12 was $2,480,798 which is comparative to last year. The increasemostly attributed to taking on the service of MIEQ (Mental Illness Education Qld) with our LivingProof service. MEIQ was a working service including staff and an increase to our revenue ofapproximately $207,000.

Expenses for the year totalled $2,426,559 where the main increase was employee expenses. Due tothe 2 new staff members from MEIQ and the Award pay rate increase.

Profit for the year was $54,239.

Total Equity of the Fellowship is $1,896,156, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year.

It has been a good year for the Fellowship and we aim to keep our standards high and support ourmembers. I wish everyone a safe and happy year and a quote from Helen Keller.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

Sandra Hubert, Treasurer

CEO ReportThe 2001-2012 financial year, saw a great deal of activity by the Fellowship as it continued to growand develop. Much of the service delivery activity is described elsewhere in this report so I willallude to some of the more significant initiatives that highlight the breadth and depth of theFellowship’s capacity to provide for the needs of people with a mental illness, their family membersand carers.

We continue to engage with other organisations, both clinical and non clinical, in order to helpstrengthen relationships and networks. Our local consortium in Townsville with AdvanceEmployment and SOLAS, continues to work together in productive ways and in both Cairns andMackay the quality of relationships and networks is testament to the Fellowship’s philosophy andvalues. We are an organisation that values collaboration and partnerships that is willing to workclosely with others to achieve better outcomes for people with a mental illness. This is evident, forexample, in our contribution to the Mackay Regional Mental Health Network and in numerous otherinstances as you will see from the various program reports.

MIFNQ has also formed a partnership with North Queensland Employment Services to establish aClubhouse in Townsville and a similar initiative is occurring through the Fellowship’s auspice inMackay. For more about Clubhouses go to www.steppingstoneclubhouse.org.au, to see how atypical Clubhouse operates. You will hear more about this in 2013 as the implementationprogresses.


During the year MIFNQ assumed management of the Mental Illness Education Program thatprovides information and awareness-raising sessions to school and tertiary students across the state.Trained volunteers with a lived experience of mental illness are managed by a network of localcoordinators to provide this service. This program is funded by Queensland Health and is wellreceived by schools, principals, counsellors and school chaplains. Thousands of school children areexposed to the powerful personal stories of the presenters who help reduce stigma and thisprovides a strategy for early intervention and prevention. The program has been rebranded andrejuvenated under the auspice of the Fellowship and is now known as Living Proof – positive storiesof mental illness.

Throughout the year negotiations continued to occur with Queensland Health and the Departmentof Health and Ageing to reach agreement about the lease over the land on which our new Townsvilleheadquarters will be built. We are confident that the new building will be completed in the first halfof 2013. Alternative premises are being sought in Mackay and Cairns so that we have a betterenvironment from which to deliver our important services.

You will be aware of the exponential growth in social media. The Fellowship strives to keep pacewith developments in this area and has seen significant growth in the numbers of people accessingour Facebook and Twitter accounts. Friends of the Fellowship, Boultons Multimedia, (Trevor andAnnie Boulton) have worked on some excellent web applications which have shown great promise,one of these is the Toxic Thinking web app which you can see at http://toxicthinking.info/.

MIFNQ is a member of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA) and we have been fortunateto be able to access its expertise and resources at a national level to support our local operations.You will be pleased to know that MIFNQ is an active contributor to MIFA both at CEO and board leveland will continue to value its membership of this important body.

As the financial year drew to a close there was an air of uncertainty as the new state governmentassumed office. The next financial year will no doubt hold some surprises for the mental healthcommunity sector. The Fellowship, having the majority of its funding coming from theCommonwealth, will watch with interest when the state budget comes down in September.

As CEO of the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland Inc I feel privileged to be working witha staff team of dedicated and committed people who always give more of themselves and their timeto make sure our clients receive the best possible services. I also appreciate the support andflexibility of the management committee which has supported the organisation in its growth anddevelopment as we undertake some significant internal reforms. MIFNQ is moving towardsundertaking accreditation under ISO9001, implementing a quality system, strengthening its internalgovernance, ICT and other systems and processes and working towards good practice in all that wedo.

Finally I would like to acknowledge that the 2011-2012 year is our 25th anniversary and that whilethe Fellowship has come from a strong grass roots community base it is bound to grow into a largermore corporately focussed agency. While growth is important the Fellowship must also maintain itsroots and connections within the local communities it serves, the people who support it and thosewho use its services.

Jeremy Audas, Chief Executive Officer




















Cairns Mental Health Carers’ Support HubWe have pleasure in reporting that the Mental Health Carers’ Support Hub here in Cairns isprogressing strongly despite having to operate in a very uncertain funding climate. Our strong linksand local community support has been the reason that the Hub has managed to achieve ongoingfunding, albeit it for a 12 month period only. We believe that one of our greatest strengths is therelationships that have been built within existing mental health services in the Cairns & Hinterlanddistrict. These services include the Non Government Sector, the Cairns & Hinterland Mental Health& ATOD Service and especially the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Service. Services that haveassisted us support our Carers who are living with a person who has severe and enduring mentalillness are:

Non-Government Services Anglicare Mental Health Respite Service – Bernie Triggs YETI – Youth Empowered Towards Independence – Valuable assistance for those who live with

Borderline Personality Disorder – DBT therapy etc Time Out Aftercare- PHaMS Centacare - Counselling Centacare - Mental Health Resource Service Neighbourhood Centre Tully Carers Qld Edward Koch – Suicide Prevention Task Force (A. Hicks on reference group) Queensland Alliance for Mental Health

Cairns & Hinterland Mental Health & ATOD Service – Teams Mental Health Unit Cairns Base Hospital Acute Care team (ACT) Service Integration Coordinator (SIC) Co-responder Program sitting within the ACT team – Police/Psychiatric Nurse Far North Recovery & Rehabilitation Team (FIRRST) Homelessness team Alcohol Tobacco & Other Drugs Nth Cairns Community Mental Health Team Sth Cairns Community Mental Health Team Mareeba Community Mental Health Team Atherton Community Mental Health Team Innisfail Community Mental Health Team - Strong links Older Persons Mental Health Team

Programs with Qld Mental Health PARC – Purpose built Step up/Step down Program Consumer & Carer Network Forum North Clinical Collaborative Carer Representation (Mackay – Torres Strait) Mental Health Clinical Collaborative (State) Carer Representative (AH)Brisbane Champions of the Cairns Mental Health Carers’ Support Hub with Cairns & Hinterland Mental

Health & ATOD service Queensland Police Service

Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Service & Anglicare Mental Health Respite Service are working inpartnership with the Fellowship’s Mental Health Carers’ Support Hub to provide the best servicepossible to our families and friends of those who live with mental illness. For example Anglicare paidfor the art work for our new Hub brochure and CRCC paid $10,000 for the printing of the same. WithAnglicare and CRCC’s support funding we have been able to offer more counselling & respite for ourCarers.


Events - Some of the events that the Hub has been involved in are: A Carers dinner held at the Colonial Club A Day at the Beach – Resilience building Forum held at Castaways at Mission Beach for those

who had experienced cyclone YASI. Lunch for Carers at Lake Barrine on the Tablelands Morning coffee support groups in Cairns & Tablelands Pave the Way Forum for Carers

Forums - The Mental Health Carers’ Support Hub have presented at the following forums(excluding the many presentations within the Qld Mental Health Service): Far North Mental Health Intervention Program Strategic 3 Day planning Workshop – Qld Police

Service – Qld Ambulance Service & Qld Mental Health. Centacare Counselling Service Advanced Personal Employment ATODS TAFE students 4th year Nursing Students at James Cook University Dept of Communities Regional Director in Cairns, Des Lee

The Early Psychosis Training facilitated by Barbara Anderson has been put to good use by Hubcounsellor Jacqueline Conroy and Sasha Black from Qld Mental Health in Mareeba have beensuccessful in promoting an information evening and from this 14 family members participated atMulungu, the Aboriginal Medical Service in Mareeba (12 Indigenous Carers,) with 100% attendance.This Program was followed by Jacqueline and Barbara facilitating some training for IndigenousHealth Workers in Townsville.

The Manager Adrianne Hicks has sought advice and support from WarrenEntsch MP (Opposition Federal Government Whip) about what needs to bedone to obtain substantial recurrent funding to further expand the servicesoffered by the Mental Illness Fellowship NQ Inc’s Mental Health Carers’Support Hub. Warren Entsch has quite a lot of ownership around the Hubas he provided the initial funding of $50,000 which was used to launch theFellowship and the Carers’ Hub in Cairns.

In 2011-2012 The Cairns Carers Hub provided 842 hours of individualcounselling to 244 clients. It also presented at 60 group sessions and spent

212 hours working with 370 clients in group settings. Overall the Cairns Carers’ Hub had more than950 client contacts for the year. The Hub has gone a long way to relieving the stress and worry thatmany carers and family members experience in their roles supporting people with mental illness.

The Hub is well positioned to continue to deliver important services in the Cairns and Hinterlandarea and will keenly anticipate ongoing funding support. Cairns

Compiled by:Adrianne Hicks, Snr Project Officer

Adrianne Hicks


Community & Education Support ServicesLast year we spoke about our completion of our first year under a three year funding cycle and thatthis would offer us some comparison in determining future growth. How quickly things change inpolitics and policy and this year’s data sets will be the final in this format and under the auspices ofthe Department of Communities. In the new financial year we move to a new format for measuringour performance and will be reporting to Queensland Health.

We continue to direct our activities and reports within four key service areas.

Refer Figure 1.

Our growth areas have been in counselling and the number of people participating in group activitiesin the community. We have been receiving new referrals from job support agencies and also frompolice through the Support Link program. The growth in the job search referrals can be attributedto our work in community education and in particular the provision of Mental Health First Aid. It isclear that employment consultants have few support options for their job seekers who have multiplebarriers for employment including mental health issues that are often not being treated. Anothersignificant referral source has been in our relationship with Support Link. This involves police makinga referral, with the agreement of the person, via a coordinating body.

MIFNQ Inc. endeavours to provide follow up with the person and some coordination of care orreferral as necessary. Again it highlights the lack of support that police have to meet the complexpresentations that they deal with on a daily basis.

Our work with community groups reflects our support of carers, students, people with MI and ourmulti cultural community. Here we are continuing to work at a community development levelresponding to the needs of the community. We work with a range of tertiary students to provideopportunities for learning about mental illness in a less formal learning environment to developpositive attitudes and capacity.

We have been active in developing interest and partnerships for a clubhouse model of service whichis seeking to develop links for people with mental illness to meaningful activities and employment.With our carers and family members we have provided a range of opportunities for education andsupport.

CommunityMetnal Health

Programs - Deptof Communities

Counselling

Community Groups

General serviceavailability

Information, adviceand referral

Community Eduation


Our work in developing a range of education resources and building workforce capacity withinQueensland Health and the community sector across Cairns, Townsville and Mackay to meet theneeds of families with a young person experiencing psychosis has been a major focus for this year.

Where we have seen some decline in service delivery has been in our formal community education.This has not been in reduced service delivery but reflects our change in recording as our schooleducation programs are accounted for under a different program. These are exciting changes thatare detailed elsewhere in this report.

Figure 2. Data Collection for the period July 2011 – June 2012

For the future we have some challenging times ahead. There is uncertainty in funding across thehealth sector and great deal of tension between the state and the commonwealth in mental healthpolicy and reform. We will be getting on with business.

At an organisational and program level we will continue to respond to needs of the community,ensuring that individuals, families, professionals and community groups have access to a trained andresponsive mental health workforce.

Our priority will be in working to coordinate our responses to the changing needs of the sector in ourthree service locations in a cohesive, consistent and considered manner. We need to continue tosupport the work that we do within our three unique geographical locations ensuring that it isdelivered with consistency and in best practice frameworks underpinned by appropriate policy andgood governance.

Compiled by:Barbara Anderson, Counselling & Support Manager

Counselling529 clients and

2177 clienthours of

counsellingrelated services

General serviceavailabilityinformationadvice and

referral207 occasions of

service

CommunityEducation

531 participantsreceiving 2922

hours ofeducation

CommunityGroups

546 participantsreceiving 3629

hours ofcommunity

activities


Mackay Regional Office- Day to Day Living Program

CounsellingIn my counselling role I have been supporting a number of carers in many areas such as referral toagencies for respite, Centrelink, emergency relief, housing and other social supports for carers andtheir families.

ActivitiesMonthly support group for carers, this has been running from the beginning of April and has been agreat success with carers being able to debrief, vent and discuss ways to tackle the mental healthsystem and other systems such as QPS, the court, Centrelink, accessing counselling and generalpractitioners.

The year began with a review and planning day, bringing members together to review the programsfrom the past six months and to develop the framework of programs that would be run till the endof the year. This review outlined the need for more member focussed programs and communityinteractions. It also highlighted the need for a more healthy focussed program where memberscould find information about what was offered in their community and allowing them to try it in apositive and supportive environment.

We participated in the Biggest Morning Tea and raised funds for the cancer council by invitingcommunity members to our Mad Hatters Tea party. We linked with Ozcare and created a focusgroup with our members to engage in the development of shared activities and these resulted in acombined barbeque and get together, a Disco and a kitchen capers cooking session. A combinedChristmas activity was also a highlight.

The Healthy cooking sessions have focussed on firstly summer sizzlers and each month has a newtheme and budget for members to look at costing and how to provide healthy foods as analternative to fast foods. We also looked at a variety of programs for fitness in the community andtrialled Chi Ball for members to participate in. In June we looked at soups and the running of a soupkitchen. We prepared our soups and invited members of Ozcare to try our soups. This then resultedin our members being the helpers for the preparation of the soups for the soup kitchen and sleepout for the homeless.

The out and about Coffee club has been very popular withmembers putting in a gold coin each week and at the end ofeach month choosing a coffee place or eating place within thecommunity that our budget will allow us to visit and this hasresulted in many of our members going for meals afterprograms to the places we have discovered.

Our Arts and Craft Program was a mindful arts program whichbrought together members of the community and members ofOzcare to work on artworks for an exhibition in October.This included a pottery workshop provided by the Pioneer Potters.

The life skills program facilitated by Micheal Ellum and co-facilitated with members has been very successful and afterreviewing the content and outcomes was decided to continueand grow with a focus on positive recovery and journeying.

Negotiating many areas and aspect of mental illness and therecovery journey have been highlighted as topics in this veryinteractive program which allows members to talk about theirlived experience in a positive and supportive environment.


The Choir of Unheard voices has continued togrow and increase its independence withmembers of the group running music programs inhouse. A drumming group and guitar workshophave been two of the new groups emerging. Asong writing program also has created a song tocelebrate the 15 years of Mackay advocacy andwas performed at the opening of their

celebrations. The choir performed at the Holy Trinity Church during Mental Health Week.The Choir has performed for Mackay Low vision Group, Mackay festival of Arts, North Side fair, andrecently has begun to provide a choir session for members of Blue Care respite. Members of thechoir also attended a talk at Crossroad Arts with the vision of becoming involved in the writing of themusic for a new play “Cherish”. The choir has again been asked back to perform at the Holy TrinityChurch this year.

Compiled by:Margaret Ward, Day to Day Living Program Project Officer Mackay

- Well Ways Program

HighlightsOrganisation and participation in the annual sleep out, this also gave me an opportunity to liaisewith other employees within the mental health sector and to promote MIFNQ’S programs.

Mental health week subcommittee: As a small committee we are organising a week of events in theMackay region to promote good mental health. We are linking good mental health and physicalhealth with a marquee at the local river to reef festival, a carers retreat, a Q & A forum (with apanel) and the roads 2 recovery walk.

PartnershipsMRMHN - Monthly network meeting where professionals within mental health promote newprograms, update each other on activities and include guest speakers from different sectors. Thisallows a monthly promotion of MIFNQ, networking opportunities and possible referrals. I alsopresent a carer update at these meetings on occasion.

CMH - Community mental health in Mackay; I am now receiving referrals from the adult casemanagement team, the child and youth mental health team and acute care team as a result ofnetworking with clinical staff.

CMH - The implementation of the early Psychosis training program; this training was delivered byBarbara Anderson earlier in the year, there has been great follow up from myself and the MobileIntensive Rehabilitation Team at CMH to implement this education to families.

ConnectionsHave been making stronger connections with community mental health, referrals for carers andconsumers are increasing.

Referrals from SupportLink, an invaluable referring system implemented by the police after possiblecrisis.

Connections are being made with local schools and staff to engage in the Living Proof educationalprogram.


UpcomingMental health week activities, we are organising four events to celebrate mental health week andraise awareness of mental health within the community.

Well Ways educational program: Organising the completion of the last group which will commencein October.

Looking forward to the many other exciting opportunities, events, community engagement andsupport to come in the next financial year!!!

Compiled by:Sheree Hollywood, Well Ways Project Officer Mackay

Rehabilitation Services - TownsvilleIt has been an exciting and a very busy year for Rehabilitation Services which includes the Day-to-Day Living Program, Respite, National Tobacco Mental Illness Project and Intentional Peer Support.

Intentional Peer SupportWe believe in the treasure of having a lived experience of mental illness and support Peer Workersto use this understanding. They are invaluable in making a difference to the lives of otherconsumers. We have Imogen Rogers now working with us as a Peer Worker. Imogen works hard tobuild and maintain respectful relationship with carers and care recipients and participants in MIFNQPrograms.

Imogen can assist carers and care recipients and participants in moving towards mental wellness andfacilitate the caring journey of carers and the wellness recovery journey for care recipients andparticipants. “Hope” is the key word for this program. A peer support worker who has a ‘livedexperience’ can offer something which professionals are unable to provide to individuals goingthrough difficult parts of their recovery.

The National Tobacco Mental Illness ProjectWhile Australia has one of the lowest rates of smoking in the world, of those who do, more than40% have a mental illness. The South Australian Tobacco and Mental Illness Project has beenrecognised for its effectiveness nationally and internationally.

The roll out of a national project to broaden the reach of the Tobacco and Mental Illness Project wasa unique opportunity for the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland to help make a positiveimpact on the health of people with mental illness here in Townsville

Most participants have been highly motivated and their resultshave been outstanding. The Project encourages and supportsmental health workers and peer workers to take leadershiproles within the program to build capacity and sustainabilityacross services. Rebecca Wood is the Project Officer and KristyEmmerson is the Peer Support Worker in this program. BothRebecca and Kristy have a lived experience of mental illnessand have both successfully quit smoking and therefore are ableto provide real experiences of hope.


RespiteOur Respite program (Mental Health Respite: Carer Support) is enjoying a much easier and mutuallybeneficial relationship with Commonwealth Carers Respite Centre, thanks to Jane Matsen, ServiceManager. The result of which is an increase in relevant services to our carers. We have beenproviding respite services to approximately 25 families and this includes providing cleaning, lawnmowing, transport, advocacy, referrals to other organisations, financial aid to have a break from thehome, supporting the person with a mental illness to access programs such as our Day to Day LivingProgram and doing what our Respite project Officer does best and that’s LISTEN!

We continue to offer creative solutions that fit for the Carer and their families rather than expectpeople to fit our solutions. Respite from caring can mean so many different things to differentpeople.

We are currently discussing ways in which we can provide a level of service to Carers who have aloved one admitted into the Acute Mental Health Inpatient Ward to ensure prompt and appropriatesupport and ongoing follow-up for families and loved ones during this traumatic time.

This year we decided to target Young Carers and with the help of the Commonwealth CarelinkRespite Centre we facilitated a Young Carer’s Group that included such topics as self-esteem, takingcare of you, mental illness and anger management. A young carer is a person, up to 25 years, whoprovides regular and sustained care and assistance to another person without payment for theircaring role. Young carers can be found in many different family situations, from intact family units,to single parent households and/or living with their grandparents or extended families. They can befound all socio-economic groups and from varied cultural backgrounds. Some young carers findthemselves new to the role while others have never experienced a life without caring.

Did you know...? 170,600 Australians under 18 are young carers 380,000 Australians under 25 provide care for a

family member Of these 380,000, 20,000 are primary carers

who provide the main support for their carerecipients

One-third to one-half live in the rural andremote areas of Australia

During 2006-07, one third of young carers looked after a person with a mental illness and justunder one quarter cared for a person with a physical disability. A significant number of youngpeople were also caring for family members who are chronically or terminally ill (15 per cent)or have an intellectual disability (11 per cent)

66 per cent of young carers reported they were unable to participate in school with 78 percent reporting insufficient energy in the classroom

54 per cent of young carers find themselves sleep deprived More than half (51 per cent) said it was difficult to make and keep friends , as a result of their

caring responsibilities, with many saying they felt socially isolated Young carers are young people who perform adult responsibilities, while still developing

physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially. Many young carers feel proud that they canprovide support to their families; however undertaking numerous adult responsibilities cantake its toll.

When they aren’t provided with adequate support, children and young people may strugglewith going to school, keeping up with their homework, spending time with friends, or getting ajob.


Young carers can experience high levels of stress and worry, impacting on their physical andemotional wellbeing. For this reason it’s important that young carers understand that takingcare of their own health and wellbeing is a vital element of caring for others.

On average, young carers care for an average of 27 hours per week

These Participant’s responses about their pathways into caring provided a diverse mix of informationabout how these young people’s caring tasks began and how they related to the changing natureand intensity of caring as they grew older and as the care recipient’s condition changed. A few ofour young carers commented on their pathways out of care, however the majority of young peoplelooking after their parents or siblings did not consider their caring role a phase in their life, butrather thought of it as a continuing responsibility with many uncertainties which they would need toconsider and manage in the future.

Young people’s pathways into caring were often different depending on the nature of the onset ofcaring, reflecting whether they felt that they were “born into caring” because a parent or sibling wasalready living with an illness or disability, or due to a specific onset of illness or disability that theyoung person remembers. However, within each of these circumstances participants still expresseddiverse perspectives on the pathways into their caring role, which can largely be divided into atransition period into caring, or to a specific moment or event.

Day to Day LivingOver the past year the Day to Day Living Program under Project Officer Sally Thain has maintainedand built on the most popular activities such as beading, art and coffee club. Our art group has seenthe implementation of a structured therapy program with the employment of a peer support workerand accomplished artist in her own right Imogen Rogers.

Coffee Club as branched out into the community holding groups at Castletown and the along Strandto try and provide people with the confidence and the social skills to get back out into thecommunity on their own.

New programs have also been implemented with varying levels of success these include “SandwichTuesday” to provide inexpensive and healthy food options to members, a four week Yoga program, atwelve week Tai Chi program, a six week cooking group, Aqua Fitness classes, lunch outings in thecommunity and a Music and Singing group.

In May 2012 D2DL hosted its own Art Exhibition to coincide with Schizophrenia Awareness Weekwhich showcased all the brilliant artwork and jewellery that members of D2DL create.

Throughout the year D2DL has provided work experience to a Year 11 Cathedral school student aswell as two third year Occupational Therapy students from JCU.

As part of our transition to create greater member ownership of the program members of D2DL arenow asked to provide a small contribution for some of the activities provided and these extra fundshave allowed us to purchase a water cooler and a shade gazebo and board games will be comingsoon. We also hold bi-monthly meetings to get members input into the planning of programs andactivities.

Sally Thain attended the D2DL Conference in Melbourne as well as service visits to Toowoomba andStepping Stones Clubhouses and attended the Clubhouse Training Conference in Brisbane all ofwhich were full of information and great experiences. Sally also attended courses, expos andinformation sessions which include Senior First Aid, CORES Suicide Prevention, and The SalvationArmy Bus Tour of Services in Townsville, Mental Health Week Expo and the Homelessness Expo.D2DL is currently in discussions with the Adult Acute Mental Health Service to bring the programinto the acute wards allowing inpatient participants to engage in therapeutic and engaging activitiesand to provide a natural and supported transition to MIFNQ upon discharge.


D2DL Townsville Exhibition 2012


ManagerPersonally, one of the highlights of my year was the opportunity to graduate with a certificate in theRecovery Oriented Mentoring Project. The Recovery-Oriented Mentoring Project (ROMP) is fundedby Disability Services Queensland (DSQ) to provide Recovery oriented training and mentorship toleaders working within the mental health sector in both government and non-government services.The concept of ‘Recovery’ has entered into the policy arena of Australia’s mental health systems, yetthere remains a level of uncertainty about what this means and how these principles can beincorporated into all aspects of practice. Many services and programs are using the term ‘Recovery’,yet there are many differences in how this framework is implemented in practice. Training on itsown, has a limited ability to support workers to implement recovery-based practice within theirworkplace. Adopting a ‘Recovery’ orientation requires both a comprehensive understanding of‘Recovery’ and the ability to incorporate it into all aspects of practice and service delivery. TheROMP project approach was designed to provide a rich learning experience on delivering servicesthat support personal recovery. It provided regular mentoring, support, and assistance toparticipants as we initiated learning projects in our organisation.

I was fortunate to attend the TheMHS Mental Health conference in Adelaide incorporating sessionson the Mental Health Commissions, Transcultural Mental Health, Resilience, Helping Professionals, aHearing Voices Workshop, Co morbidity: Mental Health and Substance Misuse, Social Inclusion PeerSupport, and the Ending Self-Stigma Workshop.

I also attended the first ever National Mental Health Recovery Forum in Melbourne where ProfessorMike Slade, a psychologist from the United Kingdom, Dr Ken Thompson , a psychiatrist from theUnited States of America; and Mr Gareth Edwards, a consumer advisor from New Zealand with apersonal experience of mental illness presented on how to support leaders, workers, consumers,and carers in developing strategies to embed a national recovery based framework; to provide anopportunity for all attendees to exchange ideas about recovery based approaches and shareexamples of current practices; to explore and promote interdisciplinary approaches to teaching andlearning mental health; to provide an opportunity to showcase approaches to recovery led teachingand learning and to identify any difficulties in moving toward a national recovery orientedframework for the provision of mental health services and possible solutions.

Recovery is an idea whose time has come. It provides a new rationale for mental health services andhas radical implications for the design and operation of mental health services and partnershipsbetween health, social services and third sector organizations.

The closure of the large institutions, the development of community-based services and policyinitiatives which emphasise recovery all provide opportunities to make recovery orientated practicesand services integral to the organization and delivery of mental health services.

Compiled by:Kylie-maree Beller, Rehabilitation Services Manager


3846%

125020%

3756%

3736%

2554%

321%

Well Ways ProgramWell Ways is well evidenced and continues to be evaluated through La Trobe University. The WellWays suite of programs is designed for the families and carers of people with a mental illness. Thereare three programs in the suite.

Well Ways Building a Future (BAF): an 8-week program for families and carers of people with amental illness offering counselling, support, up to date information and practical ways of coping andnavigating the mental health system. This is followed by 4 consolidation sessions with more specificinformation on Grief, Communication, Suicide and Developing a Wellness Recovery Plan.

Well Ways DUO: a 6-week program for families and carers of people with a mental illness and asubstance use disorder offering support, discussions, information and a guest speaker.

Well Ways Snapshot: a 1-day program for families and carers offering a brief overview of mentalillness, symptoms and treatment. It also includes a presentation from a person in recovery from amental illness talking about their experiences through the illness, treatment and recovery.

The latter part of the 2011 was still somewhat affected by Cyclone Yasi in terms of people being ableto attend programs across our three areas of Cairns Townsville and Mackay, after a slow start to2011. However, Well Ways continues across the main centres of Townsville, Cairns and Mackay.Programs have also been conducted in the outer lying areas of these centres including Innisfail andAtherton.

In the 12 months to June 2012 across the Mackay, Townsville and Cairns area 6 BAF programs and 4DUO programs were run. The number of participants in Well Ways is as follows: BAF (1-8): 46 |BAF (Consolidation): 24 | DUO: 23. There is also interest in Bowen and Mt Isa.

During the reporting period 4 facilitators were trained in delivering the BAF program. Dates are puton our website for training. Additional peer educators will be identified for training as programmesrun. Support is vital for families and carers in order for them to cope with their role and throughWell Ways this comes in the form of information (face to face, phone, email) counselling (face toface and phone), referrals, support groups, case conferencing and advocacy.

Data from across the 3 centres is shown below (referrals from SupportLink are increasing and areoften complex):


2875% 685

11%

241940%

321%

341%










New Participants

ExistingParticipantsContacts

Concerning WellWaysCounselling

Case Conferences

Referrals










The Cairns Mental Health Carers’ Support HubFunding for the Mental Health Carers Hub in Cairns has been extended to June 2013. It has provedvery successful as a ‘one stop shop’ for carers offering education and support through Well Ways,counselling, information of interest to carers, appropriate referral channels and advocacy. It is aconvener of the Carers Forum at the TheMHS Conference, an international conference to be held inCairns at the Convention Centre on 21st – 24th of August 2012.

Participant OutcomesReports from participants through evaluation, feedback and verbal comments show that theirexperience of the Well Ways Programme is positive and there have been increases in family strengthand resilience that comes with increased knowledge and understanding about mental illness;improvements in emotional health and well being; better communication and problem solving; andbetter coping skills which results in better outcomes for the person they care for.

The comment heard most often during the program is that people no longer feel alone, that thereare others in similar circumstances. During the program participants also showed increased selfcare, doing things for themselves, finding some enjoyment in life and having some ‘time out’ fromtheir caring role. The strength of the program is the facilitators being carers themselves and thatthis adds credibility to the programme. Families within the Well Ways program also haveopportunities to link into other specialised education programs such as Early Psychosis, Youth andAdult Mental Health Fist Aid, as well as continuing to access counselling and support.

After the programme is completed contact is kept with participants with information on events andcourses in their area. A carer support group has also commenced in Townsville and in the Cairnsarea carers meet for ‘Coffee and Conversation”.

Cyclone Yasi has left behind in its wake people traumatised and in need. A meeting was held inCairns with Wendy Zerner from the Innisfail Mental Health Team with Bernie Triggs AnglicareRespite Service re Bernie topping up the funding for the Cassowary Coast (Yasi Area) Councilmembers (350) to complete some mental health training delivered by Worklink (Diversity in theWorkplace). Another meeting was held with Anglicare re the “Day at the Beach” Forum for peopleon the Cassowary Coast who have experienced Cyclone Yasi – Resilience Building was the focus. Ameeting with staff in Townsville occurred with Senator Fierravanti-Wells, Shadow Minister for Agingand for Mental Health to discuss issues around carers, Better Access, Aging etc.

Advertising and Promotion ActivitiesAdvertising takes place across the three areas for Well WaysProgrammes and community events through newspaperadvertisements and editorials, radio interviews andcommunity notices, mail outs by post and emails toorganisations and networks and presentations at services inthe community. This has been effective in raising awarenessof mental illness and the services available in thecommunity.

Well Ways promotion takes place at community events,community networks, allied health networks, interagency networks, regional mental healthnetworks, consumer and carer groups, and with mental health service providers.

Activities for Well Ways staff have included attending the Allied Health Network meetings,Community Network meetings, presentations to Youth Services and ATODS, to CommonwealthCarer Respite Centre (CRCC), a presentation at the Police and Ambulance Strategic 3 day workshop,presentations to Acute Mental Health Unit staff and Mental Health teams to Compassionate Friends,Employment Agencies, Centrelink and other local services, mental Health Week, Carers day, Senior’sWeek , High School Expos, and other community events.


Meeting with Reference groups in Ingham, Ayr and Charters Towers continue and Bowen tocommence -representatives from Qld Health, local employment agencies, ATODS, SOLAS, NWQPHCand other local agencies sit on these groups which have been successful in co-ordinating care andrespite both for carers and consumers. Talks on ABC Radio are also frequently conducted.

The Well Ways staff also supply frequent material to various newsletters. Other meetings attendedinclude the Qld Mental Health commission Stakeholders forum, Mental Health Recovery Forum,Mental Health Clinical Expo, Qld Health’s Recovery Working Party, Consumer and Carers NetworkForum, Indigenous Men’s Forum, Youth Connections (specifically about indigenous youth), SupportLink (an initiative which links police with services through an e-referral process), Nth Qld RegionalDisability Advisory Council, the Edward Koch Suicide Task Force and Mackay Suicide BereavementGroup. A reflective Practice has also been established in collaboration with the Dept. OfCommunities which meets in the Mackay office.

Other RelationshipsStrong alliances are held with MH services across the threeregions of Mackay, Townsville and Cairns. In additionconnections and alliances exist with:

AnglicareARAFMIATODSCarer and Consumer groupsCarers QueenslandCentacare, Qld PoliceCentrelinkCommonwealth Carer Respite ServicesConsumer Advisory GroupCOTA (Maturity Blues)Dept. of CommunitiesDiversicareDivisions of General PracticeDomestic Violence CentreHeadspace

Independent AdvocacyJames Cook UniversityLifelineMental Health Council of AustraliaMental Health Resource CentreMigrant Resource ServiceNational Council of WomenNeighbourhood CentresOZCareRed CrossRelationships AustraliaRotaryWorklinkYouth Connections Network,and many others.

MIFNQ is also part of a consortium consisting of SOLAS and Advance Employment.

Staff DevelopmentSupervision and training are ongoing for Well Ways Project Officers. Professional Development isimportant and staff participate in training and workshops e.g., ongoing connections with MaturityBlues (COTA) the Recovery Oriented Mentoring Program 2.

Other training has included: Personality Disorders; Eating Disorders; Acceptance and CommitmentTherapy; Working with Clients with Challenging Behaviours;, Working Effectively in Mental HealthSettings; Suicide Postvention; Case Management; Providing a Brief Intervention; Administering theMental Status Examination; Mindfulness in the Workplace; Interpersonal Therapy; Frontiers ofTrauma with Bessell van de Kolk; Child and Family Sensitive Practice; Activate Mind and Body;Interventions for Adults with Mental Health Disorders Following Trauma and Disaster (Aust. Centrefor Posttraumatic Mental Health); and attendance at the conference Mind and Its Potential.




















The first time this woman came to Well Ways she was shaking and crying and scared. Herpartner has Dual diagnosis, Bipolar and drug use. She was quickly comforted and encouraged bythe other participants and attended every session. Over the program this woman grew in selfconfidence and a sense of self. She had said she had no idea who she was or even what clothesshe liked to wear or food she liked to eat as everything had focused around her partner. Shealso has 2 children. She began to implement some self care (she had her hair done), to havesome relax time, to spend time playing with her children which she delighted in, and sheSMILED. Her partner began counselling with the change in her and is now determined to giveup the drugs and focus on his family. We expect more positive stories from this family.

Another woman who is in her 40s and had struggled with a relationship with her mother formany years, feeling hurt, neglected at times, abused at times, confused and left resenting hermother came to Well Ways. Her mother has had no diagnosis or treatment and the family hadjust accepted her behaviour as “this is just how mum is”, but this woman had come to suspectmore. During the program she came to an understanding, an “AHA” moment as she piecedtogether her mother’s behaviours with the symptoms of a mental illness. She came to anunderstanding that while not diagnosed her mother had probably had this for many years. Shealso came to understand that illness is not the person.While her mother will never accept this, this woman has come to a place where she hasdeveloped different strategies to deal with her mother and a new perspective of herself andthe relationship. She said Well Ways gave her the education needed to do this but the supportand openness of the group about their experiences was what really brought her to acceptance.This has changed her life and the relationship she has with her mother.

Woman thankful for being welcomed into the Well Ways program and the support group forcarers. She said that Well ways is a fabulous program, and can't speak more highly of it; thefacilitators were warm and genuine. She said she would never forget her first day coming tothe group. She was afraid that it might open up a Pandora's Box of emotions that were churninginside her.She came that first day with such trepidation slowly making her way there. However for thesecond meeting she practically ran down the street, she couldn’t wait to get there and just “be"in the company of such wonderful people who understand what it is to love someone whoexperiences mental illness and who have walked a similar path. Since then and things havebeen going well for her family, but she says MIFNQ will be the place she runs to if the tide turns.It is the safety net she needs to know is there.

Within a counselling session together, myself and a carer were able to look at the issuessurrounding her son objectively and begin implementing a plan of referrals to other agenciesincluding housing, community mental health, Ozcare mental health and other services to beginto untangle the barrage of issues which he was facing as an individual and those she was facingas the parent. This mother was very grateful for this assistance and having someone help innavigating these complex systems within mental health. She is new to MIFNQ and wants toattend the support groups as they come up.

Positive StoriesSome stories and comments from Well Ways participants include:


The Well Ways suite of programs plays an important role in terms of community capacity and inreducing stigma around mental illness. Recognising the value and potential of every person tocontribute to the community is essential. The Hub in particular has filled a gap in service deliveryand support for carers. Relevant referrals have increased and carers have expressed satisfaction withthe service.

In supporting carers through education and advocacy they are more confident and able to discusstheir roles and issues. Recognise their value and potential to contribute to the community andincreasing see the need for self care.

Through community events and the media where information is distributed to the public, and toother services and networks, the community becomes more educated and informed about mentalhealth. This allows for a reduction in stigma and more importantly allows the community tocontribute to the overall health of its population.

Compiled by:Glenda Blackwell, Well Ways Manager

Schizophrenia Awareness WeekThe Mental Illness Fellowship of NorthQueensland (MIFNQ) Townsville DaybreakRotary Sunflower Awards were presentedMonday 14th May 2012 at a breakfast in thepresence of friends of the Fellowship frommany parts of our community.Special guest speaker was Aileen Colley, amental health nurse with over 27 years ofexperience, having trained and worked inIreland as well as the UK and Australia. Aileenis currently the Mental Health ServicesDirector for the Townsville-Mackay Medicare Local.TMML covers a large geographical region and currently provides mental health services via theMental Health Nurse Incentive Program, ATAPS, MBS Better Access, headspace, Partners in Mind,GP and MH Liaison Officer positions, as well as co-ordinating and contributing to partnerships suchas student placements from the local University.CEO of the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland, Jeremy Audas said that, “the selectioncommittee were inspired by the stories and work of all the nominees. They showed that mentalillness is just a part of the fabric of life, something not to be feared and through adversity oftencomes great inspiration.”Jeremy further went on to say, “These awards once again showcase the extraordinary work goingon in our communities to assist people with a mental illness. Government expenditure to addressmental illness Queensland’s communities is the lowest per capita forany state or territory. Only 3% of Queensland’s health budget is aimedat community mental health responses. Imagine what we couldachieve with double or triple the funding! The Sunflower awardshighlight the positive ways in which we can address mental healthissues but much more needs to be done. I applaud the contributionthat Townsville Daybreak Rotary has made not just to the awards butfor the betterment of people with a mental illness and their families andcarers through Rotary’s ongoing commitment to this vital cause.”


The President of Rotary Club of TownsvilleDaybreak, Marcel McLeod said that “the Club hasbeen a Partner in supporting the MIFNQ Sunflowerawards for several years and we are committed tocontinuing our support for many years to follow.Australian Rotary Health is one of Australia’slargest non-government funding bodies for mentalhealth research. Australian Rotary Health is ableto use donations raised by Rotary Clubs,individuals and corporations to fund research intoareas of health that do not readily attractfunding.”Marcel then went on to say “This year the RotaryClub of Townsville Daybreak will donating moneyraised through the ABB Mining Golf Challenge,

which is organised and run by the club, to establish and fund a 3 year PhD research scholarshipthrough James Cook University focused on the Mental health issues relating to FIFO Mine workers,their families and communities.

The Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland and Townsville Daybreak Rotary, would like tocongratulate all nominees on their inspirational achievements and contribution to the NorthQueensland community. MIFNQ are proud to announce that this year’s winners were....

Mayor’s Recovery Award‘A special award to recognize an individual, who has made great strides in their recovery, and whois an example of what is possible.’ (presented by MIFNQ Present, Bob James on behalf of theMayor of Townsville, Cr Jenny Hill)Winner: Stephen JervisStephen had been out of work for 15 years and has overcome a cluster of extremely challengingcircumstances including some years homeless and living with a mental illness diagnosis. In thepast 3 years Stephen has saved for a car while on the pension, volunteered 5 days a week at StVinnie’s and was supported looking for work by Advance Employment.With no success finding work, Stephen ‘stuck at it’ and achieved paid employment with AmazingClean Blinds where he has been working for the past 8 months. Stephen’s employers have beenthrilled with his dedication and work. Stephen says “...it really helps with my self esteem I’m notrelying on the government and it helps to feel like a better member of society. It’s a joy to get upevery morning to go to a job that you enjoy.”Employee Achievement Award‘For an employer, who has shown outstanding commitment to support the recovery of anindividual, or group of people, in the workplace.’ (presented by MIFNQ Present, Bob James)Winner: Dwane McPharlinDwane McPharlin registered with Advance Employment Inc just over two years ago. HisEmployment Consultant quickly identified that Dwane loved to keep his car immaculately clean.Just prior to Dwane’s registration a car cleaning and detailing opportunity opened at AdvanceEmployment and Dwane was encouraged to apply.He is an enthusiastic employee but has had to deal with ongoing affects of his mental healthcondition and ongoing medication changes. With the support from his Family, EmploymentConsultant, Employer and treating professionals Dwane has been encouraged to communicateeffectively which in turn assists Dwane to manage his mental health condition and to keep hisproductivity on a high level. Two years on and Dwane is still successfully detailing and cleaningcars at Advance Employment.

Marcel McLeod (President Rotary Club ofTownsville Daybreak), Bob James (PresidentMIFNQ), Aileen Colley (Guest Speaker) and JeremyAudas (CEO MIFNQ)


Employer Achievement Award‘For an employer, who has shown outstanding commitment to support the recovery of anindividual, or group of people, in the workplace.’ (Presented by Aileen Colley, Mental HealthServices Director, Townsville Mackay Medicare Local)Winner: John and Andrea Bruce – Amazing CleanJohn and Andrea Bruce, the owner operators of a successful, busy curtain and blind cleaningfranchise, Amazing Clean, have been great advocates of the services provided by AdvanceEmployment and as such have been willing to employ a number of job seekers within theirbusiness. They have proven their openness to provide an opportunity for a person with a mentalhealth condition to achieve successful open employment. There is never any discrimination intheir employment selection process and as such they have the ability to look to the strengths that aperson brings to the workplace not the weaknesses.In the past 12 months John and Andrea have employed 3 staff members who have faced mentalhealth challenges. They have a supportive positive work environment and their staff enjoys goingto work each day. They have a willingness to think and act outside of the square making it possibleto create an opportunity that meets the needs of both the employer and the employee. The teamat Amazing Clean have a commitment to see anyone who wants to work succeed.Outstanding Reform/Service Coordination Award‘For a service initiative, that has demonstrated the ability to effectively integrate/co-ordinateservices, in order to provide better outcomes for consumers and their families. This award is opento government and non-government providers.’ (Presented by Aileen Colley, Mental HealthServices Director, Townsville Mackay Medicare Local)Winner: The ‘Whitsunday Mental Health Action Project’The ‘Whitsunday Mental Health Action Project’ is a community development and capacity buildingprogram implemented through Supported Options in Lifestyle and Access Services Inc. SOLAS – aspecialist mental health service provider based in Townsville.The SOLAS Regional Mental Health Program delivers community sector mental health supportservices in rural and regional locations of North Queensland. SOLAS aims to assist and promotelocal responses to local needs – currently BOWEN and the Whitsunday region has NO communitysector organisation specializing in the support of people with a mental illness. It was this absenceand a very definite need that bought about The Whitsunday Mental Health Action Project.This project supports local Whitsunday community services to develop capacity in responding tothe needs of people with mental health conditions through the provision of a range of flexiblesupport options.Media Award‘For an individual or media organisation that has provided high quality coverage of issues relatingto emotional health and wellbeing’. (Presented by Marcel McLeod, President of TownsvilleDaybreak Rotary)Winner: Jennifer Pomfrett – Editor, Daily Mercury Newspaper - MackayDuring Suicide Prevention Week in September 2011 the Daily Mercury joined with the MackayRegional Mental Health Network to assist the network to promote suicide prevention week and the“Mackay needs a Headspace campaign.” They provided coverage of various events, and promotedcommunity involvement by encouraging community members to become involved in variousactivities around the town over the week to lend their support to the campaign and to raiseawareness around suicide prevention.In addition to this the Daily Mercury published a story a day over a nine day period about servicesin our community that provide mental health support, education and suicide prevention andintervention. The Daily Mercury’s coverage was in part instrumental in ‘getting our message’ tothe attention of decision makers in the Federal Government and at the Headspace national officewith an announcement by Federal Mental Health Minister, Mark Butler that Mackay had beenchosen as a site for a Headspace in the current funding round.


We express our sincerest gratitude to all those people and organisations that havemade personal donations to the Fellowship during the year. These donations,small and large, are always welcome and provide us with income to do thoseextra things that are so important to keep the Fellowship running smoothly.

Mental Health & Well Being Community AwardFor an individual or organization that has given exceptional support to the promotion of mentalhealth and wellbeing awareness throughout the community. (Presented by Marcel McLeod,President of Townsville Daybreak Rotary)Winner: Dorothy SellersDorothy has been an important force behind initiatives funded by SOLAS to bring services togetherto provide a co-ordinated response to the needs of people with a mental illness and their families.This has been through a move to provide respite and referral. Referee/Referral groups have beenestablished in Ayr, Ingham, Charters Towers and most recently in Bowen through theNeighbourhood Centre. Dorothy has overseen these projects and is a supportive, encouraging anddriving force in their delivery. In each community, services have been brought together with afocus on employment, mental health services (both government and non-government), council,rehabilitation, as well as community members. There is also support for the work force witheducation being provided with TAFE providing Cert IV in Mental Health in these local areas. It isimportant to have workers educated in the area they know and live in and it is a more efficient useof staff.

Compiled by:Deborah Wilson, Corporate Development Manager

Government Funding Bodies Department of Communities Disability Services Queensland Queensland Health Department of Families, Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Department of Health and Ageing

Each of these bodies has provided significant funds to the Fellowship and we, and our clients, aregrateful for their ongoing funding.

Non-Government Funding Bodies Perpetual ($25,000) to stock the library for our new building Tim Fairfax Family Foundation ($26,000) to assist with the development of web based

applications to support Living Proof and to deliver Well Ways in Mount Isa in the next financialyear

The Townsville, Mackay and Cairns Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres have providedfinancial support to the Fellowship to support carers, respite and counselling services

Rotary Clubs in Townsville - staunch supporters of the Fellowship in many ways, and particularlyaround our Schizophrenia Awareness Week activities

Freemasons in Townsville for various initiatives

Donations


Thank-you to our volunteers who help usmake a difference.

MIFNQ’s Organisational Structure

Management CommitteePresident ..................................................................Bob JamesVice-President ..........................................................Dr Tanya ParkSecretary ..................................................................Jenny ChapmanTreasurer..................................................................Sandra HubertCommittee Person ...................................................Donella PicklesCommittee Person ...................................................Stephen TyrerCommittee Person ...................................................Sandi WinnerCommittee Persons resigned...................................Stephen Seymour, Gabrielle Vilic

Volunteers / Presenters / Facilitators

CairnsMichelle ArnettAndrew BallaghLesa BlanchSusan Margaret HowisonSue JackomosVicki JonesSu LonginCindy MasseySheilagh PeterkinBruce RamptonHalina RitchieSue RowbothamJennifer RyanTheo SotiriardisAndrea StarkStephen TyrerAlison Willis

MackayJudith BakerToni BellDonna BleudowTarah BowmanWendy CorbyChristine CotterallDonna DempseyPaula EvaMarion HendersonCourtney MengMargaret MoyleAnyssa RoworthDonna SmithKathleen SorbelloBrett (ronald) TurnerWendy WillanLeah Zietsch

TownsvilleRebecca HamptonGaye HigginsBob JamesDebbie Jones BradfordThompsonKathryn O'NeilImogen RogersWendy SagerKelly Anne Williams


















Staffing Structure


Annexure “A” Financials

Auditor’s Reportand

Financial Statements

Compiled by:Cherrie Krajacic, Corporate Services Manager











mifnq 2012 annual report

Documents

annual report

mental illnessfellowship

compiled bydeborah wilson

mifnq annual return

ways program

day living program

funding bodies

education support services