Get Real: Talking mental health & disability
Get Real presents frank and fearless conversations about mental health and disability, including people with lived experience, frontline workers in the sector, as well as policymakers and advocates. Get Real is produced and hosted by Emily Webb and co-hosted by Karenza Louis-Smith on behalf of Meridia, which brings together not-for-profit mental health, disability and employment services provider organisations including The Disability Trust, ermha365, OC Connections, Marriott Services, Bedford and embarc.
Get Real: Talking mental health & disability
Episode 7: Mental health, disability, and the criminal justice system
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People with complex mental health conditions, along with a range of physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities, face additional challenges and hardships within the criminal justice system; a system that is difficult for any of us to negotiate.
So, when the Royal Commission on Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Discrimination against People with Disabilities released a Paper on Criminal Justice issues, the team at ermha365 – which has long been a lifeline for people who are challenged with complex mental health and disability issues – believed it was particularly important to respond.
This week, GET REAL explores the criminal justice system through the lens of complex mental health and disability, including our six-point plan to address the vulnerabilities and challenges of the people we support. Guests include:
- Karenza Louis-Smith, CEO ermha365, who has extensive experience in Australia with the criminal justice system and how it affects vulnerable people; and
- Isabel Calvert, Social Policy, Justice and Advocacy Adviser at ermha365, who has worked internationally over many years in criminal justice reform.
Meridia represents the next evolution of a group of long-standing and trusted social service organisations working across disability, mental health, employment, community inclusion, social enterprise, allied health and clinical services.
Together, we bring organisations including The Disability Trust, ermha365, OC Connections, Marriott Support Services, Bedford and embarc into a more connected and future-focused structure.
Helplines (Australia):
Lifeline 13 11 14
QLIFE 1800 184 527
13 YARN 13 92 76
Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467
Meridia 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.
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