For last week's National Child Protection Week, SNAICC called on governments and organisations to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services and communities as key to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care. "The statistics are alarming - our children are 11 times more likely to be living away from their parents than non-Indigenous children," Catherine Liddle said, CEO for the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. "If this continues at the current trajectory, the number of our children in out-of-home care will double by 2030." Read more here.

An alliance of disability representative organisations has joined forces to pressure Australia’s governments to better prioritise people with disability in their vaccine rollout programs. The letter is addressed to National Cabinet and contains an 11-point plan outlining the kind of action that governments across Australia need to take to protect people with disability. Click here to learn more.

A new report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found most Australians (90%) agree ageism exists in Australia, with 83% agreeing ageism is a problem and 65% saying it affects people of all ages. Read more here.

More than 230 organisations working at the coalface of domestic violence and homelessness signed a joint statement calling for a commitment to safe and affordable social housing from last week's National Women’s Safety Summit. Read the joint letter, and click here to add your support.

Since the crisis in Afghanistan began, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has been receiving hundreds of requests for help each day from concerned people wanting to bring their loved ones to safety in Australia. In response, its Human Rights Law Program has launched a pop-up legal clinic to provide free legal assistance to the Afghanistan-Australian community. Read media release.

In May 2020, Change the Record published Australia’s first national report into the impacts of COVID-19 on First Nations peoples in prisons, policy custody, fleeing family violence or in contact with the Child Protection system. Change the Record warned of the severe threat to life and health that COVID-19 posed to First Nations peoples in prisons during a pandemic. Since that time, the outbreak has worsened and the Delta strain poses an even greater threat to the life and health of First Nations peoples in prison. 

Following recent reports of COVID-19 cases linked with Parkela Correctional Centre, Silverwater Correctional Complex and Bathurst Correctional Centre, and the escalating case numbers in NSW, ACT and Victoria; Change the Record joins with numerous First Nations organisations, lawyers, academics, and health experts calling for First Nations peoples, the elderly, youth and children and people with disabilities to be immediately released from prison, vaccines to be prioritised to people in prisons and staff and for adequate housing and social security support to be provided to First Nations peoples on release so they can socially distance and isolate effectively. 

The Psychological distress in young people in Australia fifth biennial youth mental health report: 2012-2020 explores Mission Australia’s Youth Survey findings to better understand the prevalence and experiences of psychological distress faced by 15-19 year-olds in Australia.

The report explores how young people with mental health challenges think, feel and act by looking at the responses of 25,103 young people who answered the question measuring psychological distress in 2020. It also looks at their help-seeking behaviours – pinpointing the important role that friends, parents, services, schools and the internet and apps play as sources of support for young people who are experiencing psychological distress.

In response to the report’s findings, Mission Australia’s CEO James Toomey said: “With the prevalence of psychological distress experienced by young people increasing, this report warrants attention and swift action."

*TRIGGER WARNING*

NACCHO believes this year’s theme on last week's World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September), ‘Creating hope through action’, aligns with the innovative work done by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led organisations to address disproportionate suicide rates amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly amongst young people.

NACCHO Chair Donnella Mills said, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are 2.7 times more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress than other Australians. Our people comprise 11% of all emergency department mental health presentations across the Country. Our children and grandchildren continue to experience the impacts of past practices and policies. The rate of suicide for our young people is four times the rate of other Australian young people."

Australia Post is helping Australians stay connected by delivering more than 4 million specially designed prepaid postcards to rural and remote households across the country as part of its continued focus on mental health. Designed in collaboration with Australia Post’s mental health partner Beyond Blue, the postcards are divided into two sections with a part to keep, including helpful tips on how to maintain mental health, and a second part to write on and send to friends or loved ones in Australia free of charge. 

Australia Post Head of Community Nicky Tracey said the simple idea would have a positive impact on people’s mental health, particularly for those who are currently unable to visit friends and family. “We know that when we connect, we feel better and sometimes a small message can be all it takes to make a big difference to someone you care about,” Ms Tracey said. “These postcards make it really easy to connect with a message of love, hope and support by simply putting a message on the card, addressing it and dropping it in a red post box.”

• Our Islands, Our Home is a Torres Strait Islander led climate justice campaign to protect island homes from the impacts of the climate crisis. Right now, king tides, erosion, inundation and coral bleaching are threatening the homes and cultures of Torres Strait Islander people. The Our Islands, Our Home campaign is demanding that the Australian Government take action that will protect our island homes, and momentum is building. Hear from Traditional Owners and claimants from the Torres Strait 8 at this upcoming online town hall, where speakers will share the extraordinary power of the movement that is being built across Zenadh Kes and the mainland, and exciting plans in the lead up to launch a people-powered election campaign - 22 September 2021 - Click here for more information and to register
  
  

• SCoA has another upcoming webinar installment as part of its Settlement in Practice series, which will centre around the theme of health, with a focus on collaboration. Featuring speakers from settlement agencies and organisations with a focus on migrant and refugee health, the webinar will cover a range of topics including settlement services’ responses to the Afghanistan crisis from a health and wellbeing perspective, initiatives working to support refugee and migrant communities amidst the COVID-19 crisis, and an exploration of key issues in sexual and reproductive health of migrant and refugee women coming from a recently released national report - 22 September 2021 - Click here to register

• The 2021 Australian Reconciliation Convention, the first national reconciliation gathering in more than 20 years, will continue as a highly interactive online experience, accessible from anywhere in Australia. The Convention will be live-streamed over three half-days -  15 to 17 November 2021 - Click here for more information

• The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council of Australia (FECCA) launched the EnCOMPASS Multicultural Aged Care Connector Program to improve access to culturally appropriate aged care services. The EnCOMPASS: Multicultural Aged Care Connector program is a partnership between FECCA and local community organisations to provide navigational support to older people of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds and their communities to access the aged care system and other supports. Click here to access.

• Roadmap to social impact: Your step-by-step guide to planning, measuring and communicating social impact (The Roadmap) is a step-by-step guide to support you and your organisation through the process of outcomes measurement and evaluation. The Roadmap provides you with eight steps to understand the context in which you operate, who you engage with and the social issue you are addressing, how you address this social issue, what the intended changes are, how and when to measure those changes and how to communicate and use your findings to further improve you work and social impact. It introduces some established techniques for data collection and analysis, but it is not a guide to research methods. A list of resources is also provided at the end of the guide, including tools for stakeholder engagement, developing a survey, interview questionnaire and data analysis. The Roadmap is for everyone working towards the creation of positive social impact in Australia who wants to measure the change they are making for individuals, organisations and communities.

• The ACOSS/UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership has partnered with Anti Poverty Week and Cool Australia to create brand new resources for Primary and Secondary students on poverty and inequality in Australia. The lessons cover Math, English and HPE. Students will learn about the effects of poverty and inequality, and what constitutes living in poverty in Australia. They'll take a look at real-life stories, as well as analyse and interpret current data to discover the realities for those experiencing poverty and inequality. Click here to access the lessons.

Economic Justice Australia is concerned the issue won’t be addressed at this week’s national women’s safety summit.

Stella Avramopoulos, the head of Good Shepherd, a charity that supports women experiencing abuse or disadvantage, intends to highlight the vital role of economic independence throughout the summit. She said if policymakers were serious about ending domestic violence, women’s economic security had to be a major prevention strategy.

People with Disability Australia (PWDA), along with other disability organisations, say they are still waiting for a clear plan and targets to ensure priority groups are vaccinated – including people with disability and chronic medical conditions – before plans to open-up are implemented.

Young domestic violence victims are three times more likely to suffer financial hardship, new research from the University of Queensland shows. Toni Wren of Anti-Poverty Week discusses.

The list of URGENTLY NEEDED ITEMS has been updated. Please consider making an online food donation to support the work of the ASRC Foodbank putting food and essential items on the table of 1,100 people every fortnight - Find out more at https://t.co/kHdJsBITQU pic.twitter.com/9ErEx450Q8

— ASRC (@ASRC1) September 6, 2021