Foundation House presents to Department of Health for Mental Health Week
20 October 2021
Last week, Kylie Scoullar, General Manager Direct Services, and Mardi Stow, General Manager Community Capacity Building, presented to the Department of Health on the topic of “Responding to the mental health and wellbeing needs of migrant and refugee communities.”
They were joined by Mohammed Yassin, Founder and CEO of Culture & Co., Board of Directors member, ECCV and member of Foundation House’s community advisory group.
The sessions explored themes from the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, and outlined the work and experience of VFST, including:
- Trauma-informed and trauma-focussed care
- Partnerships and collaborations between mainstream and specialist services
- Cultural responsiveness and working with communities
- Case studies from COVID mental health work and Afghan community response.
The session was presented to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Division of the Department of Health, to staff responsible for implementing some of the Royal Commission’s recommendations. The objective being to improve responsiveness to, and inclusion of, migrant and refugee communities in the delivery of reform initiatives.
For departmental staff unfamiliar with the work of Foundation House, or with working with migrant and refugee communities, the session offered the opportunity to build an understanding of the particular needs and experiences of migrant and refugee communities, and best practice examples.