Award-winning services offer health support

TWO Bendigo organisations have been recognised at the Victorian Health Promotion Awards, held last week.

The statewide awards celebrate organisations and individuals committed to strengthening the health of their communities.

Bendigo Community Health Services was named winner of the Outstanding Health Promotion category, while the Centre for Non-Violence received the Stephen Walter Excellence in Health Promotion Marketing award.

BCHS’ work encouraging good mental health using the 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework earned them the top accolade.

The initiative focuses on how schools, early learning centres, community organisations and workplaces can look after mental health through five action areas; connect, take notice, be active, keep learning and give.

BCHS senior health promotion and community engagement officer Siobhan Sullivan said the program had grown to share ways people can take care of themselves and others.

“It is a collective effort from the health promotion team at BCHS over the past four years,” she said.

“It has been adapted and strengthened from building great partnerships with other local organisations, schools, and community groups resulting in a great impact on our community.

“These actions are communicated and shared across multiple initiatives and campaigns to boost mental wellbeing. We are excited to see what the 5 Ways Network can do next.”

An October Action Calendar was launched last year to give community members daily ideas for the five action areas during the Mental Health Month, while women’s wellbeing was promoted during VicHealth’s This Girl Can campaign.

Centre For Non-Violence CEO Margaret Augerinos said the organisation’s award-winning You Are Not Alone campaign began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when they noticed a significant drop in the number of women seeking out help for violent situations.

“We were really perplexed about this and were wondering what was actually going on. Part of what we were hearing from some of the women who were reaching out to us during those early days was that they didn’t know if we were open,” she said.

Ms Augerinos said the campaign shared clear messages of what violence could look like during the unprecedented time and reinforced that CNV’s services were still available to anyone who needed them.

“It was a really well-rounded campaign that had incredible reach. We saw our numbers, literally within four or five days of the first TV ads and social media posts appearing, our calls just went through the roof. That continued, and has continued, all through the pandemic,” she said.

Ms Augerinos also said an online shift for services like crisis response, and group and therapy work allowed CNV to expand their reach beyond the Greater Bendigo region and become more accessible.

If you’re experiencing violence and need support, visit cnv.org.au or call them on 5430 3000. You can also visit 1800respect.org.au or call 1800 737 732. The Men’s Referral Service is also available at ntv.org.au or by calling 1300 766 491.