Welcome to our monthly newsletter! This newsletter is intended for our Pillar partners, and provides updates on the Pillars current projects and health & wellbeing news from across the region. Your feedback on the content and format are always welcomed and appreciated.
G21 HWB PILLAR UPDATE - JUNE 2020
DIRECTOR'S UPDATE
Hello there,
It seems hard to believe we are in June, and looking towards the second half of 2020. With the very welcome easing of restrictions, and fortunate low numbers of COVID cases, we are seeing the resumption of many activities. Sporting clubs are planning carefully the re-emergence from lock down, and organisations settling into the “new normal”.
The G21 Region Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) initiative working groups have begun the process of looking at the data collected and begun to use this to evaluate activity which has seen shared resources and ideas for organisations to provide up to date information for the community.
Alongside this, work is underway to bring all our other working groups back together to look at the data and monitoring that has been occurring, and to begin evaluation. This will look different this year given the current social distancing restrictions, but the working groups are proceeding well.
Evaluation work has begun through the PVAW Health Services Alliance Collective. Some very remarkable early indicators regarding the Toolkit that was developed by the Alliance, and the potential to further expand on other tools and prioritise areas of work with the feedback in the preliminary stages.
Early work has begun on the “Growing Up in G21” project, and the “Connected Communities” work continues.
We are beginning to ask questions around what is the role of the Health and Wellbeing Pillar in recovery efforts, and what are the impacts of COVID. What are the gendered impacts? What impacts to mental health and wellbeing? What will life be like in the next 6, then 12 months? What would we be aspiring to achieve?
Amongst this, work is continuing to progress with the potential for a new model of health and wellbeing planning in the G21 Region. If you would like more information on this please do not hesitate to reach out.
Our website is updated daily with links around the latest COVID-19 advice and updates from DHHS, as well as comprehensive links around mental health and wellbeing, how to prevent infection and spread, and emergency relief and links to support for those experiencing financial distress. Our website will very soon be looking different. We are currently completing preparatory work to combine the Health and Wellbeing Pillar website with the G21 website. This is an exciting opportunity to simplify the way our online resource works, make it far more users friendly and to strengthen our connection with the other G21 Pillars.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to connect at this time.
Please stay safe and #stayathome where at all possible.
The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) are delighted to announce that from 14-20 June 2020, they will be bringing you the first ever virtual Refugee Week!
RCOA are delighted to have joined forces with SBS Food Online for Refugee Week 2020 as part of our ‘share a meal, share a story’ initiative. You’ll be able to watch and cook along with people from refugee backgrounds as they share delicious dishes from their home cuisines and tell us what that dish means to them.
And that's not all - members of Australia's refugee communities are offering up their talents to help us bring you an exciting week of entertainment. This creative arts, thought-provoking discussions, movies and more.
The Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre have recently develop a fantastic resource which provided support and information regarding family violence during COVID-19.
After weeks of living in the coronavirus shutdown, hut have you noticed that as the weeks passed in isolation, you found you couldn't think as clearly, that you were lethargic, less productive, your mental health deteriorated, or that your attention span dwindled?
The Give Where You Live Foundation is collecting and collating information, resources and services that can support you through the current crisis. Whether you are an individual, business or community service needing help.
The Australian Institute of Families (AIFS) would like to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of Australian families.
We are asking Australian families to tell us how their lives have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to share your experiences of family life with decisions makers in government and service providers. This may help them develop the supports that families need.
To assist our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Professionals NATSIHWA has lead a project in collaboration with AIDA, IAHA and CATSINaM to develop a resource toolkit that includes posters on important contacts, tips and information to help you care for yourself, as well as posters for distribution in your communities.
Community sporting clubs and associations can now make their pitch for a share of more than $100 million in Victorian Government grants dedicated to supporting grassroots players and volunteers.
Victorian PCPs are working with their partners in their LGAs to respond to COVID-19 response and recovery.
The following resources have been developed by PCPs to support member agencies and local communities during the COVID-19 crisis and recovery.
The Surf Coast Shire has developed the following fact sheet which provides practical information, helpful tips and local options to support those 65 and over to be healthy at home during COVID-19.
Western Victoria’s health practitioners can now more easily access clinical health information and support following the release of a new mobile-friendly HealthPathways platform.
Deakin University research into mental health and nutrition and well-being has been given a significant boost with the announcement of $8.9million in funding from the Federal Government.
Nominations are now open for young people aged 12-25 who live in Greater Geelong and close Friday 19 June.
We all have seen many incredible young people doing amazing things in these challenging times, why not recognise their efforts and nominate them?
Advice from the Federal Government, health experts, our key partners and from leading national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations have been taken on-board and this decision was not taken lightly.
The National NAIDOC Committee believe that an escalating COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis as we head into winter would have disastrous impacts on our mob - especially for our elders and those in our communities with chronic health issues.
The National NAIDOC Committee are in the process of finalising a new date for NAIDOC Week 2020 - towards the end of the year - and we’ll continue to work closely with the National Indigenous Australians Agency and our partners for NAIDOC Week 2020.
