Dear members and supporters,
Welcome to our second rainbow edition of eNews! June is Pride Month, and there are numerous events across Victoria to check out – including a trans and gender diverse clothes swap, queer stories from the NGV, and a series of videos to support parents and carers of LGBTQIA+ children from Minus18, amongst others. See the Victoria Together Pride Month or the Victorian Pride Centre websites for more.
The Victorian State Government – which earlier this year launched the state’s first whole-of-government LGBTIQ+ strategy, Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQ+ strategy 2022-32 – kicked off Pride Month by announcing the funding to deliver at least two LGBTIQ+ safe space services for young people in Western Victoria.
Pride Month has been held in June every year since the June 28 ‘Stonewall Riots’ in New York in 1969. These street protests happened in response to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn – which was one of a number of police raids of gay bars in New York’s Greenwich Village within a short period of time, and occurred within an environment of ongoing police harassment of LGBTIQ+ people. If you’re interested in the history and seeing some of the photos from the time, this CNN piece is worth a look.
Today Pride Month is largely a time for celebrating LGBTIQ+ people and communities. However, until people of all LGBTIQ+ identities enjoy equal rights and feel safe to live openly without fear of discrimination or harassment, Pride Month will continue to be a period of political activism and protest too.
In this eNews edition
- Introduction – Pride Month
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs funding extended
- Tips for choosing a digital mental health service
- ‘Our Agency’ project launched
- How safe is my hospital? The VMIAC Seclusion Report #3
- New youth eating disorder research program at the Orygen Youth Health – and other eating disorders funding news
- FREE holiday camps for young carers
- At Home with Satellite programs in the June/July school holidays
- Mental Health Complaints Commissioner (MHCC) Lived Experience Engagement Checklist
- The cost of adverse LGBTIQ+ mental health
- Participate in research: Family and friends’ experiences supporting people with mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Free flu shots for all Victorians
- What’s your experience of loneliness?
- Survey invitation: How should non-legal mental health advocacy services work?
- What’s on in your region?
– Hume (Albury-Wodonga): The Survivors of Suicide & Friends Winter Solstice
– North East Metro (Abbotsford/Coburg): Victoria Street Alive! inaugural MSIR Artists Exhibition/Mindfulness in nature
– South East Metro: The Queer Crew – a safe space for family, carers and supporters who identify as LGBTIQA+
– Western Metro (Sydenham): The Take Up Space Festival - Lived experience workforce grants – round 3 now open
- AOD and mental health conference
- Career opportunity – work at Tandem!: Administration Officer position
- Tandem Support & Referral Line
- Other Mental Health Helplines and Webchats
- Join the Tandem Family
You can access the complete enews via the link below: