Project: Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project

Location: Canberra and South Australia

Duration: Initial appointment for one year with annual renewal until mid-2025

Applications Close: 8-March 2024 at 10am AEST

About the Role: We are seeking individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to join the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Lived Experience Group. This group plays a crucial role in advising the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project, ensuring it reflects the views and interests of CALD mental health consumers and carers across Australia.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide advice and insights on multicultural mental health, representing the views and interests of CALD mental health consumers and carers.
• Assist in the project’s implementation and contribute to meaningful outcomes.
• Support the distribution of national approaches and connect with local multicultural communities.

Requirements:

• Personal experience living with mental health issues, either as a consumer or a carer.
• Ability to represent the views and interests of mental health consumers or carers beyond personal experience.
• Links to community are highly regarded.

Benefits:

• Sitting fees for participation in face-to-face and online meetings, and (where applicable) for participation in the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project Alliance meetings.
• Travel and accommodation expenses for face-to-face meetings are covered.

Background

The Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Lived Experience Group will be a key source of advice to the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project, to ensure the project reflects the views and interests of CALD mental health consumers and carers.

The group will have up to 16 members – one CALD mental health consumer representative and one CALD mental health carer representative from each state and territory of Australia. The group should also reflect diverse communities, language, gender, ages, migration experience and rural and regional Australia.

The purpose of the group is to provide advice to the project, particularly by sharing the views and interests of CALD mental health consumers and carers. Members of the group will have links to their communities, allowing them to represent the issues of most importance to CALD mental health consumers and carers and to conduct conversations with consumers and carers in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways.

The Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Lived Experience Group will continue during the funded project period, with project activities ending on 30 June 2025. Members will initially be appointed for one year or until the end of the project period, with membership to be renewed annually until project activities end.

Detailed information on the group can be found in the Terms of Reference.

For more information on the project please refer to http://www.embracementalhealth.org.au or call MHA office on: (02) 6285 3***.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project? The project aims to enhance the mental health and suicide prevention framework for individuals from CALD backgrounds, focusing on improving service accessibility and quality. By supporting mental health providers in cultural responsiveness, the project endeavors to make mental health services more accessible to CALD communities.

How does the CALD Mental Health Lived Experience Group contribute? The group advises on multicultural mental health expertise, assists in project implementation, supports the distribution of national approaches, and provides connections to local multicultural communities. Members also contribute to the project’s oversight and decision-making through the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project Alliance.

Project Duration: The group will operate throughout the funded period of the project, concluding in mid 2025. Memberships are renewed annually.

Qualifications/Experience Needed: No specific qualifications are required, but personal experience with mental health issues, either as a consumer or carer, and the ability to represent broader community views are essential.

Contribution of Ideas: The group is encouraged to share their strategies and solutions for improving mental health outcomes, which will be considered by the project’s oversight body.

Meetings: The next meeting is scheduled for March 2024 in Canberra, with additional face-to-face and monthly online meetings planned.

Compensation: Members receive sitting fees for participation in meetings, with travel and accommodation expenses covered by Mental Health Australia for face-to-face gatherings.

More Information: For more about the group and project, visit http://www.embracementalhealth.org.au or contact the FECCA office for application queries and Mental Health Australia for project-related questions.

How to Apply: For assistance, contact Hellen on hellen@mediafb85f8131c.wpcomstaging.com or the FECCA office at (02) 6282 5755.

This is an exceptional opportunity to contribute to a significant national effort in improving mental health services and outcomes for CALD communities across Australia. We look forward to your applications and the valuable perspectives you will bring to the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project.