2024 Special General Meeting Update

Dear members,

Thank you to our members, staff and Board for attending our Special General Meeting last month to approve recent changes to the CoMHWA Constitution. I am pleased to say the changes were presented, voted on, and approved by all in attendance on 29th May, and we now await approval from the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

These changes ensure CoMHWA maintains best practice for our governance, which is especially important following some recent changes to our funding.

Those in attendance at the SGM were fortunate to hear the news that CoMHWA has been awarded two Information, Linkages and Capacity Building grants (ILC), starting on 1st July 2024.

Collaborate to Connect (C2C)
Funded by Department of Social Services (DSS) through the ILC Social and Community Participation stream, C2C will increase community participation of people with psychosocial disability by building the capacity and capability of organisations to authentically codesign programs and services that meet the needs of people with psychosocial disability. This program is funded until June 2026.

My Voice, My Rights, My Way (My Voice)
Funded by DSS through the ILC Individual Capacity Building program, My Voice will deliver Peer-led workshops and develop resources that teach self-advocacy skills to build knowledge around navigating and understanding the mental health system. This series of workshops will address key barriers to self-advocacy, support personal growth, improve self-efficacy, and promote social inclusion. This program is funded until June 2027.

Mental Health Commission
At the 2023 AGM, the Mental Health Commissioner Mauren Lewis spoke about the importance of embedding lived experience at all levels of policy, commissioning and service delivery. She listened to our members share their concerns over programs being defunded and she heard the need for our important work to continue.

I am pleased to announce that the Mental Health Commission have reviewed our core funding contract for the 2024/25 period and substantially increased it for us to continue:

• Systemic advocacy work for Aboriginal Mental Health and Regional and Remote areas
• Supporting growth of the Peer Workforces and the professional development of our existing Peer workforces
• Develop and deliver Peer Supervision training
• Continuation of our very successful WA Peer Supporters Network conference in 2025, and
• Develop a Peer-led group supports program.

ASPIRE
Finally, as we neared the end of our funding for the ASPIRE program (building capacity in the Peer workforces), last week we received word from DSS that they would like to extend ASPIRE for another year. This unexpected, but very welcome extension speaks to the success of CoMHWA’s programs and, along with the recent announcement of a National Professional Peer Association, shows that the Lived Experience-led advocacy over many years, is starting to result in positive, albeit small, steps in the right direction.