National Carers Week

In this newsletter:

National Carers week
Tandem Awards 2020
Carers Victoria events
Carers Australia message

It is National Carers Week from Sunday 11 October to Saturday 17 October. The week is a time to recognise, celebrate and thank carers across Victoria and the country.

CMHL believes that families and carers should be recognised, respected and supported as partners in providing support and care to consumers.

Families and carers play a major and ongoing role in providing support and care to people with mental illness. An estimated 60,000 Victorians care for an adult with mental illness, and approximately 9,000 are young people under the age of 25. Working constructively with families and carers is integral to providing high-quality specialist mental health care.

See the Chief Psychiatrist's Guideline - Working Together with Families and Carers.

There are a number of activities and events being held in Victoria and nationally – some of which are outlined below. For further details please look at the individual organiser’s website.

Tandem Awards 2020

The Tandem Awards are designed to celebrate exceptional service to families and friends in mental health. The Tandem Awards are for people and services who have significantly improved the experience of family and friends of people in the mental health system in Victoria.
It is a chance for family and friends supporting someone with mental health challenges to nominate an individual, service or program that practices compassion and family-inclusive practice as part of their day-to-day work.

Award nomination categories
Individual Award: Clinical, community or private sector. A person who demonstrates compassion and family-inclusive practice.
Service/Program Award: Clinical, community or private sector. A mental health service or program that demonstrates compassion and family-inclusive practice.
Carer Lived Experience Workforce (CLEW) Award: Clinical, community or private sector. For Excellence in Partnering with Family/Carers (Individual or Systemic Participation).

Nominations have been extended to 5pm on Friday 6 November 2020.

Download the nomination form

Tandem have created a new video asking people to pledge their support for a safe, inclusive, fair & funded mental health system.

Families deserve compassion: Tandem's vision for transforming mental health

Follow Tandem Carers on Facebook for more news.

Carers Victoria events

This year Carers Victoria is hosting several fun and free online events for National Carers Week.

To find out more or register for their National Carers Week events, visit this page.

On Sunday 11 October at 3pm Carers Victoria CEO Scott Walker and Minister for Carers Luke Donnellan launched National Carers Week to celebrate and acknowledge the huge role that carers play in our community.
During their regular Conversations with Carers Victoria videocast on Wednesday 14 October at 2pm they’ll be joined by one of the carers from their Truly Incredible Care campaign. You don't need to register for this one, just watch live from their Facebook page or join the Zoom meeting
On Thursday 15 October at 5pm they’ll be hosting a special event for carers and their families featuring popular lockdown comedian Nat’s What I Reckon and Carer Champion Michael Casha. They’ll also be joined by Little Dreamers to hear more about their new online platform for young carers The Dreamer’s Hub.

Carers Australia message

Carers Australia are asking all carers to visit the National Carers Week website and Tell Us Why You Care! If you’re a carer, they want to hear your caring story – the more you share, the louder the carers voice will be! By painting an authentic picture of unpaid caring in Australia, they’ll be able to raise awareness among the broader community of just what a remarkable contribution unpaid carers make to our nation.

To find out more information on this year’s campaign, on unpaid carers, on the supports available and on how you can ‘Tell Us Why You Care’, visit the official campaign website.

Centre for Mental Health Learning

Our vision is to be the centrepiece for mental health learning in Victoria; leading and driving innovation that strengthens and sustains a flexible, curious, knowledgeable and recovery-focused workforce.