MerriNews, Vol 16, August 2017

MerriNews Volume 16. August 2017

Inside this issue:

1.

NEW APPROACH TO FAMILY VIOLENCE

2.

SCHOOLREADY IN FAWKNER

3.

CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP

4.

CHANGE MAKERS IN ACTION

Inside this issue: 2 Welcome 3 New approach to family violence 3 Happy feet 4 Working together, closing the gap 5 Voices and Visions 6 Goodbye sugar!

7 Diabetes: Cameron’s story 7 Ready, Set, Prep!

8 Change makers in action Merri Health @MerriHealth Merri Health

© All applicable copyrights reserved for Merri Health. No part of this publication may be replicated in any manner or medium, without the permission of Merri Health, except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

2. | MerriNews April 2017

Services forge ahead These last few months have been remarkable, showing the true tenacity and resilience of our teams.

On Monday, 3 July, Merri Health’s corporate office located at Harding Street, Coburg was gutted by fire! Within hours of the fire our business continuity plan was enacted, which saw no disruption to client services, and our corporate support services back up and running within a matter of hours.

Thanks to the generosity and team spirit of our staff, we accommodated our Harding Street team at other Merri Health locations straight after the fire, and seven days post fire, we opened a new corporate office at Level 1, 110 Chifley Drive, Preston. This will be the temporary corporate office until our relocation back to new premises in the Pentridge Precinct in Coburg by late 2017 or early 2018.

Despite the challenges of losing our corporate offices, it’s been full steam ahead for Merri Health as we continue to expand our services with the introduction of several new programs.

Among these is iHeal, a recovery based program for, and driven by victim survivors of family violence from diverse backgrounds. It is being delivered in partnership with drummond street services, Victorian Aids Council, Transgender Victoria, Switchboard and Blue Knot Foundation.

Read more about the program on page 3.

Our aged care team has also been successful

in continuing to grow aged care services and support older people, with a 50% increase in aged care packages in recent months.

The establishment of our Early Childhood, Early Intervention team under the National Disability Insurance Scheme is also under way, with the team set up in Wangaratta. Merri Health is an Early Childhood Partner which means we’ll provide support to children with a developmental delay or disability and their families, to support a child’s development.

In the primary care space, we have partnered with key tertiary hospitals to deliver a range of community-based services for back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee and pain management.

This has also seen the launch of the Little Feet and Legs Clinic, a new multidisciplinary service which helps young children that are having foot or leg problems. Read more on page 3.

As you can see, it’s an exciting time for our community with lots of new support services.

Please enjoy this edition of Merri News and I look forward to updating you in our next edition of ongoing service expansion to support the many communities we serve.

Nigel Fidgeon Chief Executive Officer – Merri Health

New approach to family violence

Peer support workers are from diverse backgrounds, including culturally and linguistically diverse, same-sex attracted and gender diverse, and people living with a disability,” said Jemma Mead, manager of counselling and support services at Merri Health.

Victims of family violence are set to benefit from a new recovery program, with support workers’ lived experience at the centre of its success.

iHeal will employ a total of 12 support workers with lived experience who will undergo professional training. They will work alongside case coordinators in developing and delivering programs and activities that support the recovery needs of their peers.

iHeal will support hundreds of Victorians, providing victims of family violence with case coordination, and individual and group peer support and recovery.

Centre to its success will be support workers’ lived experience, with survivors of family violence providing peer support and learning to the recovery process.

A partnership project with drummond street services, Merri Health has employed four peer workers and one coordinator.

“Lived experience and diversity are key to ensuring we can support our community.

Happy feet Our new Little Feet and Legs clinic is now underway.

iHeal is one of many projects in partnership with drummond street.

Together we will: >>

The service will provide additional support to children, families and adults across the North West region, targeting physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. >>

“Support workers will be drawn from past and recent victim survivor clients of the agencies involved in the project,” said Jemma. iHeal is being delivered from three trial service agencies; drummond street, Victorian Aids Council and Merri Health, across multiple sites in metropolitan Melbourne. The trial covers areas based on our existing geographic footprint and infrastructure, including the Local Government Areas of Melbourne, Yarra, Darebin, Moreland, Hume, Whittlesea, Brimbank and Stonnington.

No referral is needed to access this service.

The clinic runs every Friday and Monday from:

Support hundreds of same-sex attracted and gender diverse people through a dedicated drug and alcohol counselling service.

Call 1800LGBTIQ or email info@queerspace.org.au.

Get in touch.

Referrals opening in October 2017.

03 9663 6733

iHeal is being delivered by drummond street services in partnership with Merri Health, Victorian Aids Council, Transgender Victoria, Switchboard and Blue Knot Foundation.

Supporting young children from 0 months to 8 years, it provides families and carers with access to a physiotherapist and podiatrist, addressing issues affecting the way children walk.

Provide 900 sessions of targeted psychological services, formerly known as ATAPS.

info@merrihealth.org.au

>>

93 Bell Street, Coburg – every Friday at 10:30am and 2:00pm

>>

79 Jukes Road, Fawkner – every Monday at 10:00am and 2:00pm

Make a booking Call Service Access on (03) 9388 9933 or email service.access@merrihealth. org.au.

MerriNews April 2017 | 3.

Working together, closing the health gap The Little Long Walk kicked off a week of celebrations, with a focus on restoring respect, equity and recognition of Indigenous people.

On Thursday 25 May, we kicked off this year’s Little Long Walk; a local event to commemorate Michael Long’s 1994 walk from Melbourne to Canberra to meet our then Prime Minister, and put Indigenous issues back on the national agenda.

Each year, a local primary school takes part in the walk, which takes them on a little walk along the Merri creek up to the Aboriginal Community Elders Services.

Following the success of inaugural walk in 2016, we set out on the same journey this year with Coburg primary school, joined by Michael Long.

“I get inspired by kids. You can see how far it’s come and how far it’s grown,” said Michael.

More than 100 students took part in the event. We started the morning with an assembly, where we heard from Michael Long, learnt about Indigenous history and listened to an incredible Acknowledgement of Country in rap format, which was created by a talented, local Indigenous student.

“The Little Long Walk is important to me, as an Aboriginal person. It really helps me get a better understanding of what’s happening in the world and what has happened. It’s good to see that I can be accepted, that my family can be accepted,” said Charlie*.

The morning continued with a ‘little long walk’ to the Aboriginal Community Elders Services, where we learnt Aboriginal history and culture from two Aboriginal locals that shared stories, art techniques and played the didgeridoo.

“I have learnt that I have not learnt everything about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. I thought I knew everything because of school – but no,” said Mustafa*. *Names have been changed to respect the privacy of students.

4. | MerriNews April 2017

Dreamtime at the G Carers celebrate Indigenous culture wlth the long walk to the G and family outings.

Following the success of the Little Long Walk, our carers team along with 55 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers, set out to re-enact Michael Long’s walk with the Long Walk to the G. Held during AFL’s Indigenous Round, carers were invited to take part in the walk from Federation Square to the MCG, where they arrived to reserved seating to watch the official proceeding and the Richmond vs Essendon Dreamtime at the G game.

Voices and Visions In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week, Merri Health and Moreland Council hosted the launch of Voices and Visions; Australia’s first book on Aboriginal Early Childhood Education.

Identified as part of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) activities, the launch recognised and celebrated one of the authors, Dr Sue Lopez-Atkinson, Yorta Yorta woman and Moreland resident, who was the only Victorian writer chosen to contribute to this special book.

Sue has taught and learnt on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people for 40 years in the early childhood field, and is on a number of local community committees, including Moreland Reconciliation Advisory committees and a long-standing member of Merri Health’s RAP working group.

The intimate launch was held at Moreland City Council which saw about 60 people in attendance, in addition to a small group of pre-school children who listened to the captivating storytelling and teaching of the Yorta Yorta Hokey Pokey by early childhood educator, Annette Sax. It definitely captured everyone’s attention, young and old!

Thank you to everyone that attended and supported Sue in this incredible milestone!

“This is the first major piece of work which has been written by predominantly Aboriginal teachers and educators which speak to their lives in a professional and personal sense.”

– Dr Jackie Huggins

The event was an opportunity for carers to come together, have a yarn and connect with Indigenous history.

The event follows two family outings with our carers team, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families were supported to attend family outings.

The first day trip was to the Arthur’s Seat chairlift with 58 community members, followed by a day trip to the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel with 99 community members.

To ensure that everyone could attend, carers and their family were supported with transport and respite, and enjoyed a meal together.

Thank you to the four Aboriginal community groups that took part in the activities including Wandarra MYTIME Group, Hume Elders planned activity group, Victorian Aboriginal Health Service/Deadly Elders and the Hume Boories Group.

Join our Reconciliation Action Plan group.

We always welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to join our working group. Make a difference to the future of Indigenous health and wellbeing.

03 9355 9900 info@merrihealth.org.au

Are you Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and caring for someone?

Call 03 9495 2500 or email supportingfamilies.cln@merrihealth.org.au

MerriNews April 2017 | 5.

Changing lives start here

When Julie Sharman first started working at Merri Health six years ago, little did she know the immense impact her work would have on clients’ lives, giving one client a reason to live.

Julie has been a valued member of our community mental health team, and supports clients through their recovery journey. This includes leading art guidance and therapy as part of our Healthy Mind Hub. Recently Julie was nominated by a client for a Changing Lives Award.

Changing Lives provides clients an opportunity to nominate someone who has helped them through their journey at Merri Health.

“Julie’s advice, support and guidance has had a substantial impact on my life – it has given me a reason for living and tackling life,” said client Pedro*.

As the recipient, Julie received an award, recognition at a Merri Health event and a Red Balloon voucher to thank her for supporting our community.

Changing Lives Award is a Merri Health initiative.

Do you know someone at Merri Health that has helped or is helping to make a difference to your life, your family, loved one, family or carer?

Goodbye sugar!

This month we’ve been celebrating our health and wellness services. Our services support you to better manage health conditions and teach you how to keep healthy, active and well.

One small change to your diet can have lots of long-term benefits. With obesity and diabetes on the rise, here are some interesting tips about sugar to help you make better choices.

Hidden sugars The con artists get us every time! Have you fallen for these sneaky, so-called ‘healthy’ drink options below? They may look good for you, but they’re not!

What

How many teaspoons of sugar?

6. | MerriNews April 2017

Do you really know what the numbers on your food label mean?

What we eat impacts greatly on our health and can even bring on chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Below are some tips on what to look our for, for sodium and fats.

Sodium Choose low or reduced salt products Aim for less than 400mg per 100g

Orange juice 200ml carton

Vitamin water 500ml bottle

3.5 teaspoons

120mg or less is considered a low salt food and is recommended as a guideline for those needing to reduce their sodium intake.

Fat 5 teaspoons

Nominate them for a Changing Lives Award!

Visit merrihealth.org.au and search for ‘Changing Lives’.

Food labels – what to look our for

Total fat: aim for less than 10g of total fat per 100g Total fat: products with 3g or less per 100g are low fat Saturated fat: aim for less than 3g per 100g

Sports drink 600ml bottle

7.5 teaspoons

Liquids, saturated fat: aim for less than 1g per 100g

Cameron’s story How I dropped four dress sizes and improved my blood sugar levels.

Hi my name is Cameron. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2014. I was told I could manage it with a proper diet and exercise and so began my journey visiting dietitians, podiatrists, diabetes educators and finally an exercise physiologist. Having a good doctor is the first step to getting you motivated.

I’ve suffered with bad sleep apnoea and insomnia since about the 2009. This made me very fatigued and forced me stop working, whch resulted in depression. It only went downhill from there and at my worse, I got up to 136kg.

After a year of seeing a dietitian my doctor suggested and refereed me to Merri Health to see a diabetes educator. The educator explained in detail the different forms of diabetes and that it’s a lifetime disease that can be managed. She taught me management strategies and medications available, as well as referring me on to Merri Health’s exercise physiologist.

I started attending the Merri Health exercise program in April 2015 once a week, where they developed a program I could do on my own at home, as well as at the Coburg Leisure Centre. I was given a 3-month trial and made the most of it, going almost daily to use the gym and swimming pool. Having a weekly plan and sticking to it keeps me motivated.

It took a couple of months until the weight started to come off and my muscles and body adjusted to the different workouts. When the 3-month trial was up, I decided to join the gym.

When I first started exercising, being overweight stopped me from doing a few things – even now I still can’t run, but I am walking fast and I’m able to do most things at the gym. I am currently doing group classes in yoga, cardio boxing, CX core as well as swimming daily. I am enjoying the cardio machines and I workout on the cross trainer, running machine and step machine. I also use the hydraulic weight machines.

In February I pulled my dusty bike out of the shed and took it to the local bike shop for a gear tune and repairs. I now ride my bike to and from the gym via the local bike tracks, and have recently started riding my bike to and from the city from Merlynston.

I am now 105 kg – still 5 kg off my target goal of 100kg, which many people thought was too ambitious. My doctor and the people at Merri Health, Coburg Leisure Centre and Brunswick Baths have been so supportive, and it’s always a pleasure to have them around. My sleeping is slowly improving and my diabetes blood sugar levels are in the normal range. I have dropped down from XXXL shirts to a medium now, which means I can actually go to shops and come home with clothes I like rather than the only ones that would fit me.

I hope my story will help you with your journey. Always remember, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step,” Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu. Good luck!

Ready, Set, Prep!

Migrant families benefit from school-ready program.

Newly arrived and refugee children are benefiting from a new school-ready program in Fawkner.

more than 50 students start their first year of school at St Mark’s primary school, and will benefit from the additional support.

Ready, Set, Prep addresses poor schoolreadiness and has commenced rolling out across four local schools; Fawkner, Moomba, St Mark’s and St Matthew’s primary schools.

“We want to give our students the best start to school life and are very excited to be trialing the program here. We have lots of newly arrived families that aren’t familiar with the school system in Australia. Ready, Set, Prep will not only help the child but also the family as they settle into school life,” Mr Wilson said.

“We know that there are many barriers to accessing early learning for families in Fawkner. Ready, Set, Prep will support a smooth transition into primary school. A good start to education can dramatically improve wellbeing outcomes,” said Jackie Evers acting manager of Merri Health’s population health unit.

The program includes weekly education sessions for parents and carers of pre-school aged children, and resources for families to support family engagement in a child’s education.

School principal Peter Wilson said that

In 2015, approximately 36.6% of Fawkner children were assessed as developmentally vulnerable in one or more areas, compared to the Victorian average of 22%, according to the Australian Early Development Census.

Fawkner is home to high numbers of newlyarrived refugee, asylum seeker and migrant families; many who are socially isolated and less familiar with the Australian educational system.

Does your child attend a Fawkner school?

Would you like them to benefit from the program?

(03) 9355 9900 readysetprep@merrihealth.org.au

MerriNews April 2017 | 7.

Change makers in action Celebrating alongside our committed volunteers during this year’s National Volunteer Week.

We kicked off this year’s National Volunteer Week celebrations in May, with a Latino-style tapas dinner, where volunteers came together to relax and share stories. They ended the night on a high with certificates and gifts as a token of appreciation.

Our volunteering team spirit continued with a showcase of our volunteering services, also in May at the Hume Volunteer Conference – Leading Volunteers: Attract, Engage, Inspire. Our volunteer coordinator Donna, mental health worker Kate, and two volunteers James Simpson and Emily Cameron from our Healthy Mind Hub, shared their wisdom and experiences. Musician James even showcased his music which forms part of our Healthy Mind Hub calendar of activities.

The wins continued with Merri Health volunteer Kate Hutchison awarded the Minister for Health Volunteer Award, in the category of Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer – Improving Public Healthcare. Kate has been a volunteer in our child health team

for the past eight years, with a genuine passion and commitment towards improving social conditions and services for women and marginalised families in Moreland for over four decades!

Kate uses her knowledge and skills as a senior speech pathologist to work closely with Merri Health’s child health team. Her dedication to paediatric speech pathology has inspired many other therapists whom she has mentored to pursue a paediatric role themselves.

Kate remains driven by her strong belief that all people should have a voice, particularly children with communication difficulties and people with language barriers. Well done Kate!

Image: Kate Hutchison (left) with Health Minister Jill Hennessy.

Make a difference as a volunteer.

Visit merrihealth.org.au and search for ‘Become a volunteer’.

Brunswick

Brunswick West PAG

Fawkner

Thornbury

Chifley Drive, Preston

11 Glenlyon Road Brunswick VIC 3056

382–386 Moreland Road Brunswick West VIC 3055

79 Jukes Road Fawkner VIC 3060

298 Victoria Road Thornbury VIC 3073

Level 1 & 2, 110 Chifley Drive, Preston VIC 3072

t: 03 9387 6711

t: 03 9386 3575

t: 03 9357 2444

t: 03 9484 5314

t: 03 9495 2500

Coburg

Glenroy

Victoria Street, Coburg

Pascoe Vale

Wangaratta

93 Bell Street Coburg VIC 3058

5D Cromwell Street Glenroy VIC 3046

21 Victoria Street Coburg VIC 3058

Shop 9E Anderson Street Pascoe Vale VIC 3044

Level 3, 62-68 Ovens St, Wangaratta, VIC 3677

t: 03 9350 4000

t: 03 9304 9200

t: 03 9355 9900

t: 03 9350 4600

t: 1300 362 739

Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is provided by Merri Health (Merri Community Health Services Ltd.) and is for general information purposes only.

While information is current at the time of publication, subsequent changes to events may occur. Merri Health ventures to provide current and accurate information and we make no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or availability, with respect to this publication. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore at your own risk. In no event will Merri Health and its employees be responsible or liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or significant loss or damage, or any type loss or damage whatsoever, suffered by any person as the result of reliance on information contained in this publication.