CALD and refugee Archives | Page 2 of 4 | South Western Sydney PHN

16 November 2023

The Transcultural Mental Health Line, 1800 648 911, is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm.

The telephone service is available to support people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities get the help they need, with a specialist team of healthcare professionals who speak their language and understand their mental health concern from shared cultural perspectives.

The service provides brief over-the-phone and telehealth support for callers, including in-language information and support for carers and family members of a person with a mental health concern.

Resources are available in 42 languages.

It also provides information for callers on how to access mental healthcare and will be able to connect them with relevant services and community support.

01 November 2023

Seven South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) staff attended the Dine for Mind Gala Dinner at the Emporium Function Centre, Bankstown, on Friday, 20 October.

NSW Governor Margaret Beazley also attended the event as a special guest.

The Mental Health Foundation Australia (MHFA) organised and hosted the event alongside their NSW Multicultural Attachés and Ambassadors.

The evening featured delicious food, inspiring stories, multicultural entertainment and dancing, all aimed at actively contributing to expanding the support services in our community.

Devendra Sapkota, SWSPHN’s Mental Health Service Navigator, MC’d the event in his role as an NSW Multicultural Ambassador for the MHFA.

The evening also included an auction and raffle, with all proceeds going to the MHFA’s Small Grants Program NSW for disbursement to community mental health support and services in NSW.

Find out more about Mental Health Foundation Australia

SWSPHN staff with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.

Devendra Sapkota, NSW Multicultural Ambassador for the MHFA.

The Mental Health Foundation Australia and NSW Multicultural Attachés and Ambassadors.

24 July 2023

Resources available in six languages to encourage and prompt older people and their loved ones to think and talk about planning for later life.

The Australian Human Rights Commission is undertaking a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of planning ahead for later life.

Future planning empowers older people to have choice and control over their senior years and provides peace of mind for them and their loved ones.

It involves thinking and talking to those you trust about your future healthcare, financial and lifestyle choices.

A suite of resources is available in English, Mandarin, Italian, Vietnamese, Greek and Arabic to encourage and prompt older people and their loved ones to think and talk about planning for later life.

Visit this Australian Human Rights Commission webpage to find:

Social media assets
Community videos
Conversation guides
Frequently asked questions
Radio ads

26 June 2023

Arabic speaking GPs are being sought to champion the Arabic-speaking breast screening community engagement initiative.

The initiative is addressing the low breast cancer screening rates among Arabic-speaking women in South Western Sydney.

BreastScreen South Western Sydney, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Cancer Institute NSW and other key agencies and organisations, including SWSPHN, have partnered to develop an Arabic-speaking Breast Screening Community Engagement Plan.

Through culturally appropriate education and activities, the plan aims to improve breast screening participation rates and address barriers to screening for eligible women.

The project team is targeting the Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool LGAs which have the highest numbers of women not undertaking breast screening, but is also engaging across the region.

If you would like to champion this project or have any questions, please contact SWSPHN Priority Populations Program Advisor Rachael Taylor via email at Rachael.Taylor@swsphn.com.au

01 June 2023

You’re invited to an online forum on Tuesday, 20 June which focuses on Engaging Effectively with Refugee Communities.

The forum will be presented by NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service in partnership with NSW Refugee Health Service and Settlement Services International, and supported by NSW Ministry of Health.

Find out more / register

24 May 2023

Most of us get up each morning, have breakfast then start our day’s activities, whether it be dropping the children off at school, heading to work or starting our household chores.

Each day we have purpose. Our purpose co-exists within our community – and that community has our back. But there’s many people in our community who don’t share the same security and purpose, and their futures are in limbo.

Refugee Week, this year from Sunday, 18 June to Saturday, 24 June with World Refugee Day on 20 June, reminds Australians of our neighbours who have fled their homelands due to conflict or human rights violations. Their refugee status means they are simply asking for permanent protection.

The theme of Refugee Week 2023 is “Finding Freedom”, whether that be through a new home, a new career, or finding love or friendships. Through Refugee Week resources and events, organisers are highlighting freedom should be a given and a way of life, not an ask and a challenge.

The over-arching aims of Refugee Week are:

To educate the Australian public about who refugees are and why they have come to Australia
To help people understand the many challenges refugees face coming to Australia
To celebrate the contribution refugees make to our community
To focus on how the community can provide a safe and welcoming environment for refugees
For community groups and individuals to do something positive for refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people, within Australia but also around the world
For service providers to reflect on whether they are providing the best possible services to refugees

Find out more

10 May 2023

The strong focus on primary care, with the tripling of the bulk billing incentive and investment in the health workforce to better meet the health needs of the Australians in the 21st century, were among the welcome features of Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Short, said there was little doubt primary care had been struggling in recent years, with fewer practices in a position to bulk bill, further highlighting the need for strong and ongoing funding commitment for the sector.

“The $3.5 billion committed to bulk billing incentives, $98.2 million for new Medicare rebates for patients who require consultations of longer than 60 minutes and $445.1 million to support team-based care in general practice, are welcome measures to support the revival and protection of a healthcare system which has served us well for decades,” she said.

Other investments of interest to primary care, in particular general practices in South Western Sydney include:

$358.5 million for Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
$143.9 million for after hours primary care
$91.5 million to improve mental health by addressing workforce shortages

Ms Short said SWSPHN had a particular focus on innovative projects like iRAD, the New to General Practice Nursing program and My Care Partners to build capacity and support our general practices in delivering accessible, effective and timely care to our community.

She noted investment in digital health ($951.2 million); increasing the number of nurses in primary care ($10.7 million); and increasing incentives for general practices to employ a range of health professionals to provide team-based primary care ($445.1 million) would support those projects which were already improving the health of our region.

“Primary care is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, and SWSPHN looks forward to continuing to work with and support primary care providers across our region on the projects, services and other activities funded in this budget.

“We particularly welcome the focus in the budget on multidisciplinary team care and voluntary patient enrolment and look forward to seeing how it complements our local medical neighbourhood model of care, My Care Partners, which has been working for the past two years to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and enhance care coordination for people with multiple chronic diseases.”

19 April 2023

SWSPHN has funded a theatre project which focuses on mental health stigma, and promotes mental health support and recovery in Arabic speaking communities.

The play, The Black Box, features natural disaster themes and aims to increase community awareness of how to access mental health services during a natural disaster, and encourage people to talk more openly about the impact of mental health.

The shows will be performed on:

Friday, 26 May, 6.30pm at Casula Powerhouse, 1 Powerhouse Road, Casula
Friday, 9 June, 6.30pm at Fairfield School of Arts, 19 Harris Street, Fairfield

Find details on how to register for the shows.

Download the flyer

11 April 2023

Individuals and organisations working with refugees need to recognise and respond appropriately to the unique vulnerability and specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and gender diverse peoples.

In many parts of the world, individuals are still subject to serious human rights abuses because of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics, particularly when these do not conform to dominant social and cultural norms.

Severe persecution and discrimination in more than 70 countries continues to force LGBTIQ+ persons – including children, youth, older people and people with disabilities – to leave their home in search of a safe environment in which they can fully exercise their rights.

The Australian Government has promised to fulfil refugee quotas during the next four years with additional places given to Afghani refugees.

Between 2021 and2026 there will be some 31,500 permanent visa places for Afghani refugees.

Priority will be given to locally engaged employees and their immediate family, family members of class XB visa holders, women, girls, ethic minorities, LGBTIQ+, and other identified minority groups seeking refuge.

The NSW Refugee Health Service has developed a series of informative webinars to give participants the opportunity to learn about different refugee health topics from experts in the field. The first in the series on Friday, 21 April, at 12pm is about The impact of displacement on the health of LGBTQI+. Register to receive your e-ticket and link to login on the day.

22 March 2023

SWSPHN staff joined the Harmony Week celebrations last week with activities which gave everyone the opportunity to share, learn and appreciate Australian multiculturalism.

Harmony Week, 20 to 26 March, is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

The message of Harmony Week is everyone belongs.

We held our activities on Harmony Day on Tuesday, 21 March.

Our staff wore orange, the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week, while:

Enjoying a lunch of flavours from around the world
Hearing first-hand the experiences of a staff member who came to Australia as a refugee in 1993 to escape the Bosnian war
Pinning our places of cultural identity on a world map
Participating in the How diverse is your universe? activity

Find out more about Harmony Week

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Topic: CALD and refugee

Resources available in six languages to encourage and prompt older people and their loved ones to think and talk about planning for later life.