Mental Health Month 2020 | HeadsUp Consortia: Leaning on one another!

This year Mental Health Week was focussed on ‘taking time for mental health’: Take time to get healthy, keep learning, show kindness, connect, take notice, and embrace nature!

Together these things will improve your mental health & wellbeing. Reducing stigma around mental health in the local community is a likely outcome of us all taking more time for our mental health and should be supported by effective and integrated systems.

Did you know that the HeadsUp Consortia meets monthly online and recognises that a recovery focussed, responsive and accessible system of care that collaborates across mental health, drug & alcohol, family supports, carers and many other areas is required to support your efforts in maintaining better mental health. Services and supports must available at community and government levels to meet the needs of indigenous, multicultural and general communities of the Gold Coast.

Since its inception in 2008, the HeadsUp Consortia has worked to allow a networking meeting place where concerned organisations can share knowledge and experiences, discuss and respond to service gaps and needs, and identify required system improvements in the Mental Health and AOD sectors. Over these years this has provided opportunity for the development of partnerships, shared resources and improved support for shared clients in need. As a group, innovative ideas are explored and integrated to support better options for service delivery in response to gaps and needs.

Extending the benefits of this year’s Mental Health Month throughout 2020, the HeadsUp Consortia continue to identify issues related to Mental Health stigma in this community. HeadsUp supports activities that encourage and promote awareness of the experience of mental health, and inclusion of all community members.

As a Consortia, HeadsUp builds awareness of the challenges and successes of individual organisations and supports and lean on each other in times of need. With the increased isolation that has occurred for many during COVID-19 experience this year, we encourage the community to build awareness around Mental Health needs and get to know your neighbours…build a closer community and be there for one another through life’s challenges…let your neighbour lean on you when they are in need!

Further Information

If you require information about:

• Local Gold Coast Mental Health services, please call 1300 MH CALL.
• For general mental health support, please contact your General Practitioner (GP).
• For urgent mental health assistance for yourself or another, please contact GCH Triage Service on 07-3186 4000, or dial 000 for emergency support.

If you would like more information about how to connect with the HeadsUp Consortia, please email: headsupconsortia@gmail.com