Campaign to assist GLBTI depression
National depression initiative beyondblue will call on the GLBTI community to take part in online research to inform a GLBTI-specific mental health promotion campaign to start next year.
Beyondblue deputy CEO Nicole Highet said expressions of interest will open in August for the community to take part in the two-stage campaign.
“One of the areas the community was telling us it was interested in beyondblue taking a lead on was awareness-raising campaigns to raise awareness within the community of the increased risk of depression and anxiety so those people could recognise early warning signs and recognise the risks, that relate to discrimination, for depression and anxiety developing,” Highet told the Star Observer.
“The second part of the campaign would be to focus on the attitudes of the general community and getting people to stop and look at their discriminating attitudes and how that impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of the GLBTI community.”
Highet said beyondblue is looking for a wide range of GLBTI participation.
“We’ll absolutely try to make sure we get as diverse a sample of the GLBTI population as possible so we’re looking for a range of different experiences, different life stages, for people to contribute [to] get the in-depth people stories, people’s experiences, people’s ideas,” she said.
The awareness campaign is set to be launched in January or February 2012.
After considerable backlash from the community about the lack of GLBTI-specific research and campaigning, last year beyondblue sank $1 million into various GLBTI projects including the Private Lives survey, due for release this year, and research into an online early intervention model to tackle depression for those struggling with their sexuality.
Beyondblue is opening its national grants round in November with GLBTI research billed as a high priority area.
Highet said a recent beyondblue Victorian funding round saw a high number of “very high quality” applications for GLBTI research.
Dave has succinctly nailed the problem. It is only after endless amounts pushing, prodding and shoving that Beyondblue has got into gear – although if they finally have ‘got it’ then that is a major step forward. The next problem we face as a community here in Victoria is where the $ 4 million of GLBTI youth mental health from Mary Wooldridge’s office ends up. The latest proposal has some excellent projects, but the “corporate” sponsors have their snouts in the trough, with the management of COBAW Community Health wanting to siphon off some 30% for “overhead recovery” and GLHV and YACVIC creaming off some $670,000 in “facilitation” fees. It would be an unmitigated disaster if this comes to pass, as it has taken years to get this money on the table. We should not let empire building get in the way of tackling the horrendous rates of depression in your young people.
Well put Dave. I would add lack of initiative to break down stigma on a macro scale.
When the Chairman of the Board and “Ambassador”, Jeff Kennett likens employing a gay man to employing a paedophile, the organization has a credibility problem. When the organization does not act on this and remove the Chairman, then it speaks volumes about the way it feels towards our community. When it publishes guides on dealing with suicide for GP’s, and misses the high risk groups, then it has an ethical problem.
Beyond Blue is not an academic group but a political think tank on depression with corporate structure similar to the conservative Australia Institute, with what I see are great conflicts of interest between its corporate members, and government representatives. Therapeutic Guidelines, is an organization that produces guidelines for doctors based on the latest research, with academic groups. It is a world away from the way Beyond Blue operates, putting in opinion in guidelines, instead of just sticking to facts. It is important to distinguish between the way an Academic Organization runs with latest treatment methods, and the way Beyond Blue operates, tying to cope with its self evident conflicts of interest.
So before I have any faith in Beyond Blue, I need action on the Kennett issue, and I need to know they are following only the latest Academic research in their publication, and not opting for Murdoch style tabloid spin that mostly ignores GLBTI people and any facts or evidence. What I am seeing is funding being made available to us by Governments, and Beyond Blue wanting to grab that money in our name. I would rather the money go to organizations that do not exclude us in some important publications, and who has a Chairperson who does not liken us to child sex offenders- that in my mind inhibits some people from getting help with depression.
Some Links of interest.
http://www.defamer.com.au/2008/07/jeff_kennetts_recent_comments_may_lead_to_some_depressed_homosexuals_i_think_its_probably_best_to_keep_those_rapey_pedophilic_gays_away_from_young_foo/
http://www.smh.com.au/national/beyondblue-abandons-gay-youth-20090627-d0lx.html
http://www.theage.com.au/national/beyondblue-incredibly-neglectful-of-gay-youth-20100417-slix.html