Nominate for the MI Fellowship Awards 2010

Another reason to make sure your membership is valid is that you can nominate someone you
know to receive a MI Fellowship Award.

The MI Fellowship Awards are presented to people whose work has made a significant
impact on the lives of people with a mental illness or improved the community's understanding of mental health issues. They are announced at each year’s Annual General Meeting.

You can find out more on the Awards page.

Don't touch that dial!

This Monday August 9, ABC's Four Corners is screening a special on "Hidden Voices" about the of mental health services in Australia.

To quote their website:

"As the election campaign gathers pace, doctors, nurses and health administrators - along with patients and their families - are asking: who will deliver the funds and resources necessary to bring our mental health services into line with the rest of the Western world?"

Find out more!

MI Fellowship Raffle drawn!

Congratulations go to Aldo of Keilor Park who held the lucky ticket in MI Fellowship's annual raffle. Aldo has won a brand new Toyota Sportivo.

The win couldn't have come at a better time for Aldo. He and have wife have been married for only 18 months and are currently putting every spare penny towards their first home.

Aldo bought his winning ticket from his mother while the young couple stayed with her as their new home was being renovated.

Keep an eye out for MI Fellowship's next big fundraising raffle.

Don't Miss The Carers' Choir Performance!

MI Fellowship is thrilled to be announcing that the first public performance of the Carers' Choir will take place on June 19 at St Mark's Baptist Church in Clifton Hill.

The Carers' Choir began as a way to bring together carers from all kinds of different backgrounds and have them work on a project that taps into their creativity. As well as providing respite from the caring role, the project has also provided a much needed social outlet to many of the carers involved and a way to express themselves.

The Carers' Choir is conducted under the leadership of Kavisha Mazzella, who also helms the Italian Women's Choir La Voce Della Luna. La Voce Della Luna will also be performing as part of the concert.

Bookings for this event will be essential. To secure your place, call Rosemary Baker on (03) 8486 4232 or email rbaker@mifellowship.org.

For full details, just click the flyer to the right.

Inside Out dates announced

Following on from the rousing success of the reading at this year's Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture, MI Fellowship is thrilled to announce the dates for the 2010 Victorian tour of Inside Out and that bookings are now open.

Inside Out will be performed in Frankston, Shepparton, Clayton and Moonee Ponds.

Check out our Inside Out page for full details.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Review of the Guardianship and Administration Act: Read MI Fellowship's Submission

Recently the Victorian Law Reform Commission's (VLRC) has been reviewing the Guardianship and Administration Act, which continues to be of great importance to people with a mental illness.

This Act, which was first instated in 1986, covers the actions of people who may be making decisions on behalf of people who cannot currently make decisions on their own behalf.

As part of the VLRC's review of the Act, public submissions were sought into how the Act was working and what could be done to improve its impact. Working with carers and consumersto gather their views, MI Fellowship's advocacy wing prepared a substantial submission for the VLRC to consider.

You can read that submission, by clicking here.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to make a submission to this important review. The provisions within the Guardianship and Administration Act are a critical part of the overall network of support and services needed for people with a mental illness, or other mental health problems. Many of the people we work with have been impacted, in some way, by the Guardianship and Administration Act and we are particularly pleased to be able to present their views to the Law Reform Commission as part of our submission.

For more information about the review of the Guardianship and Administration Act, visit the VLRC website.

Corporate breakfast the most important meal of the day

The second annual MI Fellowship Corporate Breakfast at the iconic MCG on Wednesday May 19 was well worth getting up early for.

The audience was made up of dozens of mental health professionals and policy makers keen to learn from overseas and local perspectives.

Guests were welcomed by MI Fellowship board member Lyn Allison (and a slap-up cooked breakfast).

Speaking were our Bruce Woodcock memorial lecturer Dr Joanne Nicholson, Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle and Sue Farnan of MI Fellowship.

Dr Nicholson drew on her decades of research into how better to cater for families as a whole when treating people with mental illness.

The Lord Mayor impressed with his understanding of mental health issues and his Council's committment to the cause.

Sue Farnan spoke of a matter close to her heart - the Well Ways program for families.

"We stage the Corporate Breakfast for many reasons - learning from our speakers, sharing knowledge and building relationships," said Liz Crowther MI Fellowship chief executive. "But ultimately we're hoping that families will be the winner."

Dr Nicholson wows crowd at Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture 2010

Photography by David Wilson

This year's Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture was a moving and uplifting affair as MI Fellowship explored the theme of families and mental illness.

Opening proceeding was a half-hour reading from the award-winning play Inside Out, where actors Benn Welford and Valerie Bader nailed their portrayal of a young man and his mother coming to terms with schizophrenia and its impact on their relationship. Many of the carers and people with a mental illness present felt that the script had been lifted from their own lives and more than one audience felt a little emotional by the time the reading came to an end.

A full theatrical performance of Inside Out will be staged in October as part of Mental Health Week.

Next came Dr Joanne Nicholson's presentation where she argued that family is the context where mental health recovery takes place. Dr Nicholson spoke passionately and personably about the need for mental health services to take a whole-of-family approach when working with people with a mental illness.

She also showed evidence from her own team's work at the University of Massachusetts that supporting people with a mental illness in their family roles actually improved the mental health outcomes of people participating in their programs.

Following Dr Nicholson's applause, Robyn, who is a carer and a Well Ways Duo coordinator got up to relate her own experiences in a caring role and how her involvement in the pilot program for Well Ways Duo had helped her understand how essential the family dynamic is.

Rounding came a series of insightful questions from the audience which ultimately led to a short impassioned speech from MI Fellowship President Rob Knowles about his disappointment in the Federal Government's chronic underfunding of mental health services and the flow-on effect that that has had.

Check back on this site soon, we hope to have photos and video footage of Dr Nicholson's presentation online shortly.

Important dates for MI Fellowship board nominations 2010

MI Fellowship’s Board recently appointed Mr Bernard Feely as Returning Officer for 2010 and to review our obligations and processes in regards to Board election as part of the ongoing governance review initiatives.

Mr Feely has identified the following important dates as the key steps in this year’s Board election. More information about Board election will feature in next edition of mi voice

• Nominations for Board positions will open Wednesday 22 September 2010
• Nominations for Board positions will close on Wednesday 6 October 2010 at 5.00pm
• Ballot opens Wednesday 20 October 2010
• Ballot closes Wednesday 3 November 2010 at 5:00pm
• Election date is Friday 5 November 2010
• Annual General Meeting is Tuesday 9 November 2010 at 5.00pm

Book now for Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture 2010

Continuing 2010 as Year of the Family at MI Fellowship, we are thrilled to announce that bookings for this year's Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture are now open.

This year's guest speaker is Dr Joanne Nicholson who has more than 25 years experience in working with families and mental illnesses.

More information about this year's lecture and Dr Nicholson can be found on the Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture page.

New MI Voice now online

The Autumn 2010 edition of MI Voice is now online.

Click here to visit the MI Voice archive to read it.

Homelessness and mental illness - MI Fellowship submits to government inquiry

On Tuesday February 16th, MI Fellowship CE Liz Crowther presented to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Adequacy and Future Directions of Public Housing on behalf of people with a mental illness.

In 2007's, Australians Talk Mental Illness survey, housing and accommodation was revealed as the most pressing issue facing people with a mental illness and carers. MI Fellowship made housing its central theme throughout 2008 and brought out Dr Sam Tsemberis to speak on the issue for the annual Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture that year.

To find out more about Liz's approach to the housing issue, click here to see a recent editorial she wrote on it.

Bruce Woodcock 2010 - New year, new speaker, new venue

We're off to a flying start in 2010 at MI Fellowship with big announcements already underway for this year's annual Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture.

This year's theme will be "families" and we're very proud to say that we have secured American expert Dr Joanne Nicholson as this year's guest speaker. Dr Nicholson will be discussing issues around people with a mental illness and the role that family members play in recovery.

The other big news for this year's lecture is that we have a change of venue. In 2010, the Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture will be held on the 6th floor of the Victorian Arts Centre. The new location promises a more intimate space and better access to parking.

The Bruce Woodcock Memorial Lecture 2010 will be held on May 18 during Schizophrenia Awareness Week. Keep watching MI Voice and MI Voice Update for more details.

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