For the past six years, Knox residents have reported higher rates of psychological distress than the Victorian average and more than a quarter have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression at some point in life.
October is Mental Health Month, incorporating World Mental Health Day on 10 October, with this year’s national theme being We all have a role to play.
Community mental health services provider Mind Australia is part of the Knox Mental Health Round Table, which aims to strengthen partnerships, share knowledge and take a collective approach to mental health services and initiatives in Knox.
Mind Australia’s Carolynne White, who grew up in Knox, says it was her first encounter with mental health support services that altered her career path and motivated her to help others.
She was at university and working as a personal care assistant with children with disabilities when a child client passed away, resulting in her being referred to the employee assistance program.
“As a result of the counselling, I discovered that there was more going on with my mental health than grief,” Carolynne says.
“So, I continued on with the counselling and came to understand that what I was going through was depression. By getting the support that I needed, I was able to deal with the impact of my depression but also to grow beyond that and recover.
“That was a significant turning point in my life that made me think that maybe I want to work in the mental health space and make sure that other people could get the support that they needed sooner rather than continue to struggle.”
Council is mid-way through our four-year Mental Health Action Plan. During Mental Health Month Knox is exploring how discrimination impacts people’s mental wellbeing and the role each of us play in practicing inclusiveness, reducing discrimination and stigma.
People can be discriminated against for their age, ability, gender identity or sexual orientation, ethnicity or cultural identity, among other aspects of their identity. In the Knox community, the ongoing public debate on the Voice has seen a rise in racist comments to our First Nations community, and over the past year there has been an increase in the anti-trans and LGBTIQA+ rhetoric.
Carolynne says discrimination can have profound and ongoing impact on people’s mental health.
“Particularly with all of the discussion around trans and gender diversity recently, we have had a significant increase in the number of people people within the LGBTQIA+ community reaching out for our Aftercare services,” she says.
“There’s been some really horrible instances of discrimination and outright abuse towards people who are trans and gender diverse because of conversations in the media and anti-trans events.
“Mental health is often construed as mental illness but mental health is much broader than that and affects everybody … everybody needs to feel connected, be able to develop and use their abilities, and contribute to their communities.
“We’re looking to grow our partnerships with Knox Council and other providers in the area so that we can make more services and supports available to people within the Knox community.”
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