How you can help
Mental health reform can benefit all Australians and all Australians have a role to play in making it happen.
- Concerned Australians can increase their awareness and understanding of mental health issues, talk more openly with others about mental health problems, lobby their public representatives for improved services or donate money to organisations working for mental health reform.
- People who work in mental health services can embrace positive changes in their service models and cultures that are based on proven evidence of what works.
- Policymakers can make long term, strategic investments to protect and support the mental health of the Australian population as a central strategy for achieving greater economic productivity, more effective health and justice systems and enhanced inter-generational equity.
Actions you can take today:
To advocate for better mental health services, you can pursue one or more of a number of options:
1. Join the GetUp! campaign.Click on the link http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/healthreform&id=1132 and follow the instructions. By joining the GetUp! campaign you will add your voice to a growing network of thousands of Australians taking action on mental health. Joining GetUp! will also help you maximize the impact of your campaigning, by coordinating it with the campaigning energies of thousands of others.
2. Start a letter writing campaign. If you have a personal or family experience of being let down by the mental health system, document it and send it to the people who can do something about it. If you have time, send a hand written letter. But if you are short of time then e-mail your letter. Your letter should detail your story, what changes you want to see and what you want the person you are writing to to do.
The people directly responsible (and therefore the people who you can ask to fix the problem) are:
- The Prime Minister
- The Health Minister and Minister for Mental Health
- The State Premier (for Victoria, use this form) and
- The State Health Minister (for Victoria this is David Davis - email him directly) and State Mental Health Minister (for Victoria this is Mary Wooldridge)
It is also a good idea to write to (and ideally arrange to meet) your local elected representatives (for state and federal parliaments). You can find your federal electorate and representatives here and find out your Victorian electorate here.
Other people you can contact to share your story and to encourage them to advocate for mental health reform include the Opposition (at a federal level contact the Shadow Health Minister Peter Dutton or Shadow Mental Health Minister Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells).
It is also worth writing to the cross-benchers in the Senate to lobby for mental health. Some senators to think about contacting include Senators Nick Xenophon (Independent from South Australia), Rachel Siewart (Australian Greens from WA) and Steve Fielding (Family First from Victoria).
3. Talk to the media. Depending on your circumstances you might consider sharing your story with the media - talk radio and local papers are often best. However, sharing your story in such a public way is something you should only consider doing if both you and your family are comfortable with the idea and you have thought about it carefully. If you are thinking of talking to the media about your story and want some practical advice about what is involved you can contact Lisa Mulhall.
4. Form an action group. If you are prepared to dedicate a lot of time an energy to the issue, you may consider forming a local action group with 4-5 other people who feel equally passionately about mental health services. If you are interested in conducting locally base advocacy, consider talking to Matthew Hamilton who may be able to provide some helpful background information.