The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, known as VMIAC is running a pilot project giving consumers of mental health services the opportunity to get education, training and practical learning experience to participate in leadership and governance arrangements across Victoria's transforming mental health system.
Our guests for this episode are Erandathie Jayakody and Jo Rasmussen.
Both Erandathie and Jo have living experience of being consumers of mental health services and are heavily involved in consumer leadership and elevating consumer perspective for the co-design, delivery and outcomes of these services.
Erandathie is VMIAC’s senior project lead for the Consumers Leading in Governance pilot program and has extensive experience in advocacy for mental health consumers, including as a board member at Mind Australia and a Tribunal member at the Mental Health Tribunal Victoria.
Jo is currently the Lived Experience Strategic Integration Consultant at Mildura Base Public Hospital in Regional Victoria. Much of Jo’s passion and work is driven by helping to reduce community stigma around mental health conditions. Jo is also a mental health consumer representative at the local, state and national level and is a participant in VMIAC’s Consumers Leading in Governance program. In 2019 Jo was named National Mental Health Advocate of the Year.
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Produced and hosted by Emily Webb, ermha365 Advocacy and External Communications Advisor with Karenza Louis-Smith, CEO ermha365.
ermha365 provides support for people with complex mental health and disability in Victoria and the Northern Territory.
ermha365 acknowledges that our work in the community takes place on the Traditional Lands of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and therefore respectfully recognise their Elders, past and present, and the ongoing Custodianship of the Land and Water by all Members of these Communities.
We recognise people with lived experience who contribute to GET REAL podcast, and those who love, support and care for them. We recognise their strength, courage and unique perspective as a vital contribution so that we can learn, grow and achieve better outcomes together.