PHN grants benefit men’s organisations in South West Sydney
Nine community groups and organisations, including several leading men’s mental health programs, have received South Western Sydney PHN grants ranging from $50,000 to $200,000.
The funding was provided under the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Targeted Regional Initiatives for Suicide Prevention program, which aims to build resilience and knowledge within the local community by increasing mental health literacy, help-seeking and knowledge of local services, all protective factors for suicide prevention.
Recipients include the peer-led support group The Men’s Table, which facilitates tables across South Western Sydney that bring men together each month in a safe and inclusive environment that builds social support networks and promotes help-seeking behaviours. The Men’s Table is a member of the Australian Men’s Health Forum.
Mentoring Men received a grant for a community development officer to link the organisation and the communities it serves, with the overall purpose of expanding the reach of Mentoring Men’s programs.
Parents Beyond Break-Up was awarded funds to facilitate new weekly in-person support groups for separated men and dads in the region. These sessions will be supplemented to include volunteer peer mentors who will work across the region, ensuring less populated areas have support.
Both Mentoring Men and PBB are AMHF members.
Other recipients are:
STARTTS, a group set up to support Assyrian and Mandaean men. Activities focus on developing mutually supportive relationships among members and reducing isolation and stigma around seeking mental health support.
University of Sydney’s Design-a-thon and online hub targeted at culturally and linguistically diverse youth who identify as LGBTQIA+. The hub will include information in multiple languages and real stories of people seeking help for mental health concerns.
Batyr Australia will extend its online programs into schools to support young people in having positive conversations about mental health and help-seeking, focusing on schools with highly culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.
Mackillop Seasons will deliver the Seasons for Growth Adult program, a two-day training program for up to 40 professionals to provide small-group grief education programs within their local community. The program aims to build capacity within communities to provide location-based small group programs for adults and parents following experiences of suicide.
Prosper Australia received funds to develop a Looking for Change podcast series and a training and communications campaign. The campaign will explore multiple approaches to combating suicidal ideation associated with financial hardship, including the development of awareness-raising material, such as a conversation starter kit for financial counsellors and emergency relief providers.
Folkal/Ironbark will use its grants to facilitate an eight-week program aimed at those experiencing suicidal ideation, as well as supporting carers of suicidal persons and those bereaved from suicide. After the group sessions, participants can also participate in a photovoice public awareness campaign using their photographs.