Shire backs suicide walk

This Sunday’s Suicide Prevention Awareness Network (SPAN) public walk in Bendigo is a significant opportunity to raise awareness about this critical issue.

Primarily designed to allow people from across central Victoria touched by suicide to remember loved ones, friends, work or schoolmates, the day will also include guest speakers, a free sausage sizzle and entertainment by Mez Whittle and the Castlemaine Pipe Band.

Using the theme “Tough Times Pass”, the walk will start with registration at the Dai Gum San Chinese precinct in Bridge St at 9.30am.

Loddon Healthy Minds Network has been very busy over the past few months developing a Strategic Plan that will guide its activities for the next five years.  The plan has been adopted by the committee and also approved by the Loddon Shire Council. This is a necessary step as the committee is auspiced by the Loddon Shire.

Part of the Strategic Plan was to develop a website to provide residents with contact information regarding mental health issues. The web site is also intended to bring basic information and links to shire residents along with news about mental health issues that may appear in the mainstream media and other sources.

A mental health Triage service is a 24/7 emergency contact point for people experiencing a mental health crisis. The name Triage is somewhat misleading as it is not a word used in everyday language. According to Wikipedia, the definition of Triage is as follows:- Triage is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition.

Loddon Healthy Minds Network has been very busy over the past few months developing a Strategic Plan that will guide its activities for the next five years.  The plan has been adopted by the committee and also approved by the Loddon Shire Council. This is a necessary step as the committee is auspiced by the Loddon Shire.

Part of the Strategic Plan was to develop a website to provide residents with contact information regarding mental health issues. The web site is also intended to bring basic information and links to shire residents along with news about mental health issues that may appear in the mainstream media and other sources.

Depression is often referred to as "The Black Dog". According to Wikipedia, the term "The Black Dog" was first used by the English writer Samuel Johnson. It was then popularised by Sir Winston Churchill who also used the term to describe his own depression. As a result the term "The Black Dog" is in common use today to describe depression.

But what exactly is depression? It can be so different for so many people and sometimes words are not enough to describe the feelings, or lack therof, that are involved. A video might be easier to understand.

Mental illness is a subject often regarded as taboo in our society. It has been well established as an illness and yet many people have difficulty in talking about it in the same way they talk about broken legs, cancer or heart disease. With depression being one of the most common mental illnesses, it is important that people can talk about their illness, particularly with family and friends so that others can understand what someone with depression may be going through.

The Loddon Healthy Minds Network is starting a mail-out to every household in the Shire this week to make people aware of its aims and contact details.

The envelope contains a slip of paper and a fridge magnet with a short explanation of its purposes and key phone numbers. The magnet provides the phone numbers for the 24 hour, 7 day a week emergency mental health service in Bendigo and also the number for Lifeline. The Healthy Minds Committee website is also featured where residents of the Loddon Shire can gain further information and contact points regarding mental health.

The fridge magnet provides an immediately accessible means for key information and we trust it will be of assistance to residents seeking information about mental health issues.

The Loddon Shire Healthy Minds Committee launched their new website today. The site is intended to provide general information on mental illnees and mental health contacts for residents of the Shire.

In the past, the Healthy Minds Committee has put out a fridge magnet which provided a number of contacts for people seeking information. It was found that many of these contacts became out of date as phone numbers changed and organizations ceased to exist. The launching of the website will provide a dynamic means of keeping this information up to date.

The Loddon Shire Healthy Minds Committee had great pleasure in launching its Strategic Plan and website in Bridgewater on 10th May 2012.  The launch was attended by the Mayor of Loddon Shire, Cr Geoff Curnow who presided over proceedings at the launch and Cr Allen Brownbill who is the chair of the Loddon Healthy Minds Committee.

The launch was officially made by Damian Drum, MLC for Northern Victoria Region and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development. Damian Drum spoke at length on the importance of mental health being regarded in the community in the same light as physical health. This is one of the most important ideals of the committee in getting mental health destigmatised.