Category Archives: News

Inner South Family and Friends end of year Christmas Dinner

End of Year Christmas Dinner 6.30pm Tuesday 10 December 2024 at Cusina, 130 Erskine Street Middle Park

Bookings close 5 pm Wednesday 4 December.  Free parking is available in Erskine Street.

TO BOOK

  1. Deposit $14 for pensioners or $28 for non-pensioners to ISFAF Community Account, BSB 033169   A/c No:  258307  to reach ISFAF account by Wednesday 4 December

Please ensure that your deposit shows your name and names of any others in your booking.

  1. Email confirmation to burstyner@gmail.com

In your email, include

  • Name, phone number and email of each individual attending (pref. mobile phone no.)
  • Choice of main course for each person and their special dietary needs, if any.

Cusina is a gourmet restaurant with a highly regarded chef. The 2024 ISFAF dinner at the same venue was reported last year as having been ‘the best ever’. Food will be cooked specifically for us on the night. We are a big group. To assist the chef, we must advise the restaurant of main courses by the previous Wednesday night.

Accordingly please let us know in your email which ONE of the following main courses you wish to have:

  • any ONE pizza shown on  the menu. The list of pizzas is shown below at: https://www.opentable.com.au/r/cusina-middle-park
  • ONE of the following pasta dishes:
    • beef ragu pappardelle (pappardelle pasta with slow cooked beef brisket in red wine and paprika sauce ),
    • spaghetti with prawns in lobster bisque,
    • gnocchi with pumpkin and gorgonzola
  • chicken cacciatore : boned chicken thighs with roasted capsicum olives and onion with a touch of Napoli sauce served with roasted potatoes  (GF)
  • fish of the day: wild caught barramundi fillet roasted tomatoes, potatoes ,olives and caramelised red onion (GF)

If anyone in your booking has special dietary needs you must also let us know the specific needs in your email.

All of the above pastas and pizzas can be made GF if you advise ahead.

Please note that the meal is highly subsidised by AMAH.  Drinks other than tap water are not included in the above cost. Any drinks other than tap water are to be ordered and paid for individually at the bar upon order.

Confirmation of booking will be emailed to individuals whose deposits show up in the above account AND who have emailed isfaf@alfred.org.au  with their choice of main course (and any special dietary needs)

Extracts from Mental Health Australia CEO Weekly Update 13 November 2024

Take the survey

Inner South Family and Friends Support Group Meeting and Social Events

ISFAF MONTHLY MEETING:  7pm Tuesday 12 November 2024

GUEST SPEAKER:  Associate Professor Simon Stafrace, Programme Director, Alfred Mental and Addiction Health (AMAH)

TOPIC:  Continuing Implementation of the Royal Commission into Mental Health. Growth of AMAH services and what it means to you  

All carers, family and friends of individuals are welcome to attend, as are members of Staff (Team AMAH).  A light supper provided by our committee is served from 7.05 pm, enabling mingling among individuals. No need to book for our monthly meetings. They are free, however, a small contribution is always extremely welcome.

VENUE:  Level 4, 549 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, a little to the city side of Wesley College, 549 is easily recognisable by white umbrellas in the forecourt. Lots of free parking in the centre lanes of St Kilda Road, with trams stopping at the door. If you are having trouble with transport, seek further information or just need a chat, about ISFAF and/or issues faced by carers please phone Judi on 0425 723 746 or Eleni on 0412 018 722.  For security, we are required to pay a concierge at the door of the building.

Sunday 24 November (subsidised) Lunch and Theatre: 11.30am at Parkers Café 79 Parkers Rd Parkdale (110m from station, free street parking nearby)

DAHLIN! IT’S THE JEANNE LITTLE SHOW at Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd Parkdale

Dahlin! It’s the Jeanne Little Show moves seamlessly between story and song. Jeanne’s humble beginnings, her years in London, successful marriage the many famous people she met along the way and her attempts to be both mother and TV star are all delightfully covered. With a fantastic batch of hit songs from many eras. Shirley Bassey, Marlene Dietrich, Anne Murray, Lulu, the stories are wrapped in warmth and Jeanne’s own brand of zany, irrepressible humour.

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY KIERAN CARROLL   Kieren, son of our beloved member Frank is a prestigious playwright with many international and local productions to his credit:  https://kierancarroll.com/    Starring Caroline Ferguson.

Booking Details: Booking includes the theatre and your choice of up to $25 from the menu of Parkers Café on the day. There will be an ‘honesty jar’ for choices above $25. There is no need to make your menu choice ahead but you must arrive 11.30am sharp to enable the kitchen to have meals ready in time for you to enjoy the food before the show.  The menu is available at: https://parkerscafe.com.au/menu-2

The theatre is small, already heavily booked. Book asap to ensure your seat.

To Book

  1. Deposit donation $18 pensioners, $30 non-pensioners to Westpac ISFAF Community One Account BSB 033-169  A/c No: 258307. 

2.  Make sure your deposit shows your name

3.  Email  judi.burstyner@gmail.com  with proof of booking and names of all individuals in your booking

  1. expect a confirmation via email on Wednesday 20 November. If you don’t receive a confirmation by 8pm please email  judi.burstyner@gmail.com urgently.

Bookings will close when sold out or by 5pm Tuesday 19 November, whichever occurs first.  Seating IS limited.

*We are very grateful to Alfred Mental and Addiction Health for their financial support, making this and other heavily subsidised ISFAF events possible.

Excerpts from Mental Health Foundation Weekly Update 30 October 2024

 

Butterfly Foundation’s BodyKind Youth Survey is closing soon!
It’s the last chance for young people aged 12 – 18  to complete the third national online survey on body image. The BodyKind Youth Survey helps Butterfly understand the body image experiences of young Australians and get young peoples’ views on what needs to change to create a more BodyKind Australia.

Participants can win one of 20 gift vouchers.

Further information and a link to the survey is available at the button below.
Learn more

Talking Point Free Seminar Series 27 November 2024

Talking Point – 27th November 2024, 1pm – 2pm – ONLINE

Family Drug Treatment Court: Improving outcomes for parents experiencing addiction and their children in child protection proceedings, presented by
Matt Wilson – Statewide Program Manager, Family Drug Treatment Court – Children’s Court of Victoria

This presentation will showcase the Children’s Court of Victoria’s Family Drug Treatment Court (FDTC). The FDTC is a 12 month judicially monitored, solution-focussed court approach that seeks to engage parents whose children have been removed from the care due to parental substance misuse of dependence with the aim of achieving safe and sustainable family reunification.Through an exploration of the Family Drug Treatment Court, the webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to:

  • Understand the operations of the Family Drug Treatment Court in the Children’s Court of Victoria
  • Understand how solution-focused court-based approaches lead to significantly higher and more sustainable rates of family reunification for parents who have experienced addiction.

Matt Wilson is the Statewide Program Manager of the Family Drug Treatment Court in the Children’s Court of Victoria and led the court to be awarded the 2019 Victorian Protecting Children Awards prestigious Robin Clark ‘Making A Difference’ Award. Matt has an almost 30 year history working in a range of statutory, clinical, leadership and managerial roles across the children, youth and families sector. Matt’s academic qualifications lie in Social Work, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health, Child and Family Practice Leadership, and Addiction science.Matt is 2020 Churchill Fellow, and a 2023 Policy Impact Fellow through the University of Queensland’s Centre for Policy Futures and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Date: Wednesday 27th November 2024
Venue: Online
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST
Cost: Free
Register: click here to register
If you have enquiries regarding registration please call (03) 8413 8413.

Inner South Family and Friends Carers Week Film and Lunch

To celebrate Carers Week our group is meeting at the Palace Como Cinema, corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street South Yarra at 9.45am to see the film THELMA which is rated 98% on Tomatometer.

Thelma is a 93-year-old grandmother who tries to recover her money from a phone scammer in LA. Starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg and more, this film is inspired by a true story and has a Mission: Impossible vibe.

Following the film we will be lunching  at Blossom Thai close to the cinema.

menu all 4 pages

  1. Choose your meal from the attached menu. ISFAF will pay for upto $30 for food. You are welcome to choose more and to pay the extra into an honesty jar in cash on the day.
  2. deposit $12 pensioners, $24 non-pensioners to Westpac ISFAF Community One Account BSB 033-169  A/c No:258307.
  3. make sure your deposit shows your name, email (not text) judi.burstyner@gmail.com   with:
  • proof of booking,
  • names of all the individuals in your booking,
    expect a confirmation via email on Tuesday 22 October. If you don’t receive a confirmation by 8pm please email judi.burstyner@gmail.com urgently as we may not be able to increase our booking beyond Wednesday morning. 

BOOKINGS CLOSE BY 5PM TUESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2024

Inner South Family and Friends Support Group Meeting and World Mental Health Day Social Function

ISFAF MONTHLY MEETING  7pm for 7.30 pm TUESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2024

GUEST SPEAKER  Robbert Roos, Victorian Legal Aid
TOPIC  Effective Legal Help and how to Get It
All Carers, family and friends of individuals are welcome to attend , as are all members of Staff (Team AMAH).  A light supper provided by our committee is served from 7.05 pm, enabling chatting and mingling.  Learn from individuals sharing similar challenging journeys.  No need to book for our monthly meetings. They are free.  However, a small contribution is always extremely welcome.
VENUE  Level 4, 549 St Kilda Road, Melbourne  a little to the city side of Wesley College, 549 is easily recognisable by white umbrellas in the forecourt. Lots of free parking in the centre lanes of St Kilda Road, with many trams stopping at the door. If you are having trouble with transport, seek further information or just need a chat, about ISFAF and/or issues faced by carers please phone: Judi 0425 723 746 or Eleni 0412 018 722

Please come early to chat and to enjoy delicious snacks which will be available from 7.05pm

For security, we are required to pay a concierge at the door of the building. Latecomers may not be able to enter.

World Mental Health Day Lunch Thursday 10 October 2024

There is something called a ‘Free Lunch’  (though it comes after  much hard work) In appreciation of the work by team members of AMAH, please join Inner South Family and Friends at a buffet lunch on World Mental Health Day Thursday 10 October 12.30pm – 2.30pm  at 549 St Kilda Rd Melbourne.

For catering purposes, please RSVP to isfaf@alfred.org.au  by Monday 7 October.  You are very welcome to assist by bringing a plate, but please do not feel obliged to do so

If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact Judi directly on 0425 723 746 or judi.burstyner@gmail.com