Archived News (28)
Monica Robinson from Boort Best in Show Winner
In 2017 The Loddon Healthy Minds Network held its annual art competition in an effort to raise awareness of mental health with the theme of “Mental Health – Share Your Journey”
Entrants were challenged to create a piece of artwork which shared their mental health journey so far. This might be as someone who is/has experienced poor mental health and your recovery journey; it may be what you do to support good mental health, your experience with someone who has good or poor mental health, or any stigma you may have encountered on your mental health journey.
Please give us a hand to plan!
The Loddon Healthy Minds Network was formed in 2007 to provide advocacy and support for people living with mental health issues in the Loddon Shire. The Network is committed to reducing the stigma of mental health and advocating for appropriate mental health support in the Loddon Shire with a key focus on suicide prevention and awareness.
The Network is now developing its direction and activities for the next five years and is seeking your input to gain a better understanding on what the main issues are to focus on and how we can best respond to the needs of Loddon communities.
Continuing to raise awareness of mental health within the Loddon community; the Loddon Healthy Minds Art Competition is on again in 2017!!
The theme this year is "Mental Health – Share Your Journey!”
This year’s theme is challenging entrants to share their mental health journey so far. This might be as someone who is/has experienced poor mental health and your recovery journey; it may be what you do to support good mental health, your experience with someone who has good or poor mental health, or any stigma you may have encountered on your mental health journey.
Loddon Healthy Minds Network in collaboration with Bendigo Community Health Services is producing a short video resource intended to provide greater understanding and insight into the role of carers who support people with mental illness in the community.
The video resource will be used predominantly online as well as relevant forums and information sessions in encouraging conversations and reflection on the role of a carer including the importance of self-care for people undertaking this role.
As part of the video production we are looking to interview several carers to gain their perspective on the following questions:
The Loddon Healthy Minds Committee are delighted to announce the winners of the 2016 Art Show. There were 32 entries from the four secondary schools in the Shire. It has been a great way of spreading the message about mental health throughout the Shire. The winners for 2016 are:
- Best In Show – Rochelle Vella
- Runners Up Best In Show – Scott Woodward
- Boort District School First Prize – Zoe Bremner
- Boort District School Second Prize – Fi Rae
- East Loddon P-12 First Prize – Sarah James
- East Loddon P-12 Second Prize – Chelsea Hicks
- Pyramid Hill First Prize – Mary Estrella
- Pyramid Hill Second Prize – Samantha Treacy
- Wedderburn College First Prize – Matt McMahon
- Wedderburn College Second Prize – Ella Turnbull
Click on Read More to see the entries.
The Youth Mental Health First Aid Course is for adults working or living with adolescents (those aged between 12 and 18 years), however, the course can be relevant for those helping people who are a little younger or older. This course is particularly suitable for parents, teachers, sports coaches, and youth workers.
What the course covers:
The course teaches adults how to assist adolescents who are developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis. Course participants learn about adolescent development, the signs and symptoms of the common and disabling mental health problems in young people, where and how to get help when a young person is developing a mental illness, what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective, and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation.
The 2016 Loddon Healthy Minds Art Competition is on again and this year it is bigger and better.
For the first time there will be a written section for those who are challenged with the enormity of drawing a stick man. Yes, you can write a story around the topic for the year. After all, writing is an art form!
The theme this year is "Mental Health - Look Out For Your Mates!"
As usual there will be two sections, an Open section for those over 18 and a Junior section for those between the ages of 14 to 18.
Eligibility:
- The open section of this competition is open to all Loddon Shire residents aged over 18 years
- The junior section is open to all Loddon Shire residents between the ages of 14 to 18 years of age
- All work is to be completed within the last 12 months and solely by the artist
- Size of artwork is to be 1 metre square maximum and A4 minimum (needs to be transportable)
- Any medium can be used (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture etc.)
To contribute to a stronger, safer and more resilient community it is a good idea to undertake Mental Health First Aid training. You will learn how to support someone experiencing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts.
A Mental Health First Aid course is now available in the Boort community, Mondays 6, 23 and 30 May and 6 June, 6:00PM – 9:30PM. Better still, this course is free, funded by the Victorian government as a response to the drought.
To register, or for further information, contact B.R.I.C. on (03) 5455 2716 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also download the poster attached here.
EVENT POSTPONED. WE WILL ADVISE REVISED DATE AS SOON AS WE KNOW.
On Monday the 25th January 2016, the Victorian Farmers Federation will be running a workshop in Wedderburn called “Look Over The Farm Gate”.
The season has been pretty tough for our farmers, but it doesn’t just affect them. Periods of dry affect the entire community and in many ways. Obviously the farmers are the first to feel it with crops not growing and dams not filling, but then this extends to cash flow and poor harvests. In turn this means less money to spend in our towns, so the small businesses are affected also.
Financial pressures in small businesses can result in loss of jobs and increased friction between employees. Yet the real cause is simply the weather and the circumstances.
Since the first men’s shed opened its doors in 1998 they have been popping up all over the country, including in Loddon Shire.
There must be a reason for that explosion of growth. As Weekly Times journalist Dale Webster discovered when she visited Boort Men’s Shed, it’s more than just having a place to make stuff.
More...
The Loddon Healthy Minds Committee are delighted to announce the winners of the 2015 Art Show. We had a much bigger field of entries this year, particularly with entries coming from the Open Section. It has been a great way of spreading the message about mental health, not only throughout the Shire, but we have had a wider reach. Although people outside the Shire were unable to enter the competition, they do at least see the positive moves we are making towards improving the mental health of our residents through art.
And the winners are..........
Mental Health week runs from 4 October until 10 October and aims to activate, educate and engage Victorians about mental health through a week of interactive events across the state.
This year the Loddon Healthy Minds Network in association with the Wedderburn Lions Club and Wedderburn College will be holding a Sunshine Breakfast on Thursday 8 October at Jacka Park in Wedderburn.
Come along to Jacka Park from 8am for a free breakfast, enjoy music performed by students from Wedderburn College and check out the entries in the annual art competition. Members of the Healthy Minds Network will be there with information about available mental health services.
In an effort to continue to raise awareness of mental health within the Loddon community the Loddon Healthy Minds Network will conduct an art competition again in 2015.
This year the Network aims to challenge entrants to consider art work that represents colours as a reflection of good mental health. The 2015 Art Competition will be held during Mental Health Week in October, and has two categories, a school section (ages 14-18) and an open section (ages 18 and over). The theme of this year's art competition is: 'Good mental health has many colours'.
The big blue bus, fondly known as Roadshow Rhonda, from beyondblue has been on a national road show since February 2014. It will travel over 50,000 kilometres by the time it has finished its journey and will have travelled through every state and territory in Australia, encouraging and supporting people everywhere to 'Take 1 step' towards better mental health. It is now embarking on the journey's final leg through Victoria and will visit Wedderburn and Inglewood on Thursday 7 May.
