Connecting Communities

Overview

The Connecting Community project will build capacity in three identified high needs communities in the Southern
Brisbane region to provide sustainable supports for families and people affected by mental illness.

The project will work with the following communities:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD)
Disadvantaged young peoples

The project will focus on:

Raising community awareness and providing education to communities on the impact of mental illness on their families, carers, children and young people
Strengthening families and communities through the implementation of highly effective evidence based interventions which have been shown to deliver significant results in the areas of prevention and early intervention
Mapping the service needs of the communities, identifying gaps and building or strengthening linkages to a broad range of services to better meet the needs of the communities and their families
Building and training a volunteer support network in the identified communities to provide ongoing support for families and carers, children and young people affected by mental illness.

The project with develop lasting capacity within each of the identified communities through:

Greater understanding of the needs of communities
Greater understanding by the communities of the impacts of mental illness on families, carers, children and young people and where to get help and support
Development of an upskilled workforce in these communities to continue to implement effective prevention and early intervention activities
Streamlined referral pathways to a relevant range of services
Development of a trained and supported volunteer network to provide support to families, carers, children and young people affected by mental illness.

The project will be fully evaluated to identify effective strategies and learnings that will assist in transferring the model or parts thereof to other communities.

The project will run out the following three interventions:

Positive Parenting Program (Triple P)
Mental Health First Aid
FRIENDS for Life

If you are interested in being trained in any of these interventions, please see the Community Page

Objectives

The outcomes of this project include:

Reduce the prevalence and severity of mental illness in Australia
Reduce the prevalence of risk factors that contribute to the onset of mental illness and prevent longer term recovery
Increase the proportion of people with an emerging or established mental illness who are able to access the right health care and other relevant community services at the right time with a particular focus on early intervention
Increase the ability of people with a mental illness to participate in the community, employment, education and training, including through an access to stable accommodation.

Program Details

The key strategies of the project are:

Increasing Community Awareness: raising awareness of mental health through Mental Health First Aid Training, media and community education.
Strengthening Families and Communities: delivery of Triple P and the FRIENDS for Life programs to practitioners and the development of a community volunteer network.
Connecting to Services: establishing pathways with services

The three identified high needs communities in the region include: