The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System highlighted that people with lived experience need to be at the centre of the new mental health system.
In the second ECCV forum on mental health, our speakers will share stories and insights from the lived experience of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the structural barriers CALD communities face in accessing mental health services and our forum will address the continual impacts of lockdowns on these groups.
We will hear from speakers with lived experience and frontline mental health workers in COVID-19 affected communities, including counsellor Tigist Kebede and youth worker Hala Nur, as well as Shehani De Silva, Education & Service Development Consultant at Victorian Transcultural Mental Health, and Jaya Manchikanti, President of IndianCare.
The event will also feature a special performance by Thabani Tshuma, a Zimbabwean writer and performance poet who will share work centred around his lived experience of mental health.
Shehani De Silva is an Education and Service Development Consultant of the Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH), the lead transcultural and intersectional mental health service in Victoria. Prior to migration, Shehani worked in Sri Lanka with organisations such as UNICEF Sri Lanka. She is interested in building service capacity to address intersectional community needs within her current role at VTMH.
Tigist Kebede is a counsellor with the Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture (Foundation House), with a work history in the field of complex trauma, particularly in family/domestic violence and sexual assault. She is a passionate advocate for equitable practices and employing an anti-oppressive and intersectional lens. A counsellor at Pola Psychology, she also works in a voluntary capacity in her community.
Jaya Manchikanti is a founder and current President of IndianCare, a welfare and community development organisation for the Indian origin community in Victoria. Jaya has been working in social services for more than 20 years, across the not-for-profit, local and state government sectors and is a current PhD candidate at Victoria University. Jaya will share her lived experience of navigating the mental health system.
Hala Nur is a Youth Worker at The Venny, focusing on early intervention and prevention for kids aged between 5-16 years, and studying a Master of Social Work. She has been an active member of the Inner North West Melbourne African Community. Her recent community work has involved COVID-19 risk outreach and support, as well as increasing local support capacity through advocacy.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Thabani Tshuma is a Zimbabwean writer and performance poet who will share work that centres around his lived experience of mental health. His work can be found in publications such as Dichotomi magazine and Next in Colour. Thabani was the 2019 Slamalamadingdong Grand Slam champion and winner of the 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize.
Where: online. Registration is essential.
Tigist Kebede is a counsellor with the Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture (Foundation House), with a work history in the field of complex trauma, particularly in family/domestic violence and sexual assault. She is a passionate advocate for equitable practices and employing an anti-oppressive and intersectional lens. A counsellor at Pola Psychology, she also works in a voluntary capacity in her community.
Jaya Manchikanti is a founder and current President of IndianCare, a welfare and community development organisation for the Indian origin community in Victoria. Jaya has been working in social services for more than 20 years, across the not-for-profit, local and state government sectors and is a current PhD candidate at Victoria University. Jaya will share her lived experience of navigating the mental health system.
Hala Nur is a Youth Worker at The Venny, focusing on early intervention and prevention for kids aged between 5-16 years, and studying a Master of Social Work. She has been an active member of the Inner North West Melbourne African Community. Her recent community work has involved COVID-19 risk outreach and support, as well as increasing local support capacity through advocacy.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Thabani Tshuma is a Zimbabwean writer and performance poet who will share work that centres around his lived experience of mental health. His work can be found in publications such as Dichotomi magazine and Next in Colour. Thabani was the 2019 Slamalamadingdong Grand Slam champion and winner of the 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word Prize.
Where: online. Registration is essential.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Register Now
Bookings: Register Now
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Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria (ECCV)Address: Suite 101, 398 Sydney Road, Coburg Vic 3058
Tel: (03) 9354 9555
Email: info@eccv.org.au
Email: info@eccv.org.au
Website: www.eccv.org.au