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You are now viewing the project titled Out of the shadows - women taking action for better mental health
TITLE:	Out of the shadows - women taking action for better mental health
PROJECT COORDINATOR:	Rana Qummouh, Liverpool Women's Health Centre
PROJECT PARTNERSHIPS:	Ettinger House, Sisters of Charity, Ammberly's Women's Refuge, GROW Community, Centacare, Immigrant Women's Health Service, Liverpool Women's Health Centre, South West Sydney Area Health Service.
PROJECT SUMMARY:	The project is to organise and conduct a one day forum for mental health consumers, carers, non-Government organisaitons and mental health services. The forum will act as a venue for consultation with both women and service providers. It aims to: - Gain a better understanding of mental health issues for women - Provide women with the opportunity to have their say about their mental health needs - Identify better ways for government services to consult with women - Provide the opportunity for women to connect, shar their stories and build on existing knowledge (initiating an opportunity for healing) - Identify potential service responses, particularly the non-Government sector for partnership initiatives
TARGET GROUP:	Mental health consumers, services and NGOs
HEALTH ISSUE:	Mental Health
GOALS: Health Outcome	To improve the quality and quantity of service provision by non-Government service providers to women mental health consumers and women carers of people with mental health issues
STRATEGIES: Process Activities	- Organise a forum that will explore perceptions and knowlege of mental illness - Use these workshops as an opportunity to challenge myths and provide information - Present previous research highlighting issues for women with mental illness - Include in the forum, consultations with consumers, carers and women in the community to identify mental health needs affecting them - To involve the mental health consumer advocate in the planning process of the forum, and to act as a liaison person between the SWAT committee and the consumer group to involve women in the decision making process - The forum will include panel sessions where all stakeholders are represented and encouraged to participate in discussions that identify useful consultation methods - To ensure the venue is accessible, the room is non-threatening, comfortable and safe for women to share their experiences - To ensure the input of consumers and carers into the forum agenda, and also ensure the flexibility and relevance of the topics to be discussed and workshop structure used. - Include action plan workshops within the forum - Write and distribute a report documenting issues raised during the forum and reacommendaitons for action - To encourage NGOs to incorporate strategies in their strategic plans to address needs of women with mental illness - Conduct a six month follow up with non-Government services
TIME FRAME: (Start)	May 2001
TIME FRAME: (Finish)	June 2002
FUNDING:	Women's Health promotion Seeding Grants
The areas of the Health Continuum that the project addresses are:
Prevention Creating supportive environments for health Reorienting health services Improving health services for women Increasing participation of women in decision making in health Research and data collection
EVALUATION:	- Verbal feedback on the day of the event - Level of participation by all stakeholders involved - Level of attendance by all stakeholders involved - Participants will be asked to complete evaluation forms - Increased membership of SWAT (South-West Women's Mental Health action Team) - Initiation of partnerhsip projects with non-Government organisations - The level of media coverage of the event - Evaluation of the aims and objectives of SWAT to identify future directions - Completion of summary report highlighting and documenting issues of concern from diverse perspectives
RESOURCES:	Out of the Shadows - Women taking action for better mental health. Report of the one day forum.SWAT (South West Women's Mental Health Action Team)

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