As the 16 Days of Activism rolls on this week we continue our discussion of family violence. I'm joined by Kaye and this week we discuss in depth why people stay or have so much difficulty fleeing family violence and the effect that can have on children. We also discuss mens behaviour change programs and why it's so important for good men to speak out on issues around family violence, respect and equality.

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Visit the Grampians Community Health website

As we begin the 16 Days of Activism and we turn a spotlight on to putting a stop to violence against women and children, we are joined by Dawn who has over 20 years experience in the family violence field in Australia and the UK. We speak about the alarming statistics, the barriers that can be faced by people who are faced with family violence and the many forms family violence can take. A tough subject to talk about but one we need to be talking about.

Visit the Grampians Community Health website for more information on what service GCH can offer

This week we're joined by Jane Moriarty, Executive Officer from CG LLEN (Central Grampians Local Learning Employment Network) to discuss the ongoing Resilient Ararat promotion, how it's been implemented in the community and the importance of resilience, particularly during the past two years of COVID and lockdowns. We also discuss The Resilience Project as a whole and the principles of GEM: Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness.

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For more info on what's happening with Resilient Ararat, click here to head to their Facebook page

For more on the Resilience Project hit this link to visit their website

On this episode of Community Is Our Middle Name, we're joined by Grampians Community Health Mental Health Support Worker Jenna Wright and from Ballarat Community Health, Social Connections Project Officer Jessica Franks. We talk about the importance of social connections, the increased need in the community, particularly since the lockdowns over the past two years due to COVID, for the need for social inclusion and how GCH and BCH are achieving this through this program.

Visit the Grampians Community Health website here

For more info on Ballarat Community Health click here

Find out more about the social connections program, and take the pledge, here

Catching up this week with Kieran Ryan who is the Head of Corporate Partnerships at Movember. Kieran is a Grampians local from Stawell who joined the Movember cause after the loss of two close friends to suicide and decided that he wanted to do more to make sure it never happened to anyone else. We talk mental health, prostate and testicular cancer, the Movember movemnet and what it means and of course some tips on fashioning the upper lip hair during Movember.

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For more info on Movember or to sign up to grow the mo or donate, click here.

With National Childrens Week almost upon us, this week we're speaking with Monica Vendy about the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies program, her role and the support provided and what National Children's week means to her.

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With Gamblers Harm Awareness Week coming up on the 17th, we spoke with Carolyn Crawford about her lived experience with gambling addiction. Carolyn speaks candidly about how her addiction started, the road it lead her down and the major event in her life that led this grandmother to become an advocate for people with gambling issues and gambling reform. A must listen episode. 

Thanks to Carolyn Crawford for sharing her story and to Shelley from the Banyule Community Health ReSpin program for getting Carolyn in touch with Grampians Community Health to tell her experience.

Here are some links to a couple of the other programs that Carolyn mentions in the podcast:

Three Sides Of The Coin

The Alliance For Gambling Reform

and for more information on Grampians Community Health click here to visit our website

October Is Mental Health Awareness Month and to celebrate we're speaking to Jasmine Weatherington about how to look after our own mental health. During the COVID pandemic our mental health has taken a hit, so we have ten tips to help us (including the host and guest) manage our mental health and take care of ourselves

Visit the Grampians Community Health website for more on the services we offer.

This week we are speaking with Jeff Davies who is a Movement Disorder Nurse at Grampians Community Health. We speak with Jeff around what his role entails as well as discuss movement disorders such as Parkinson's, MS, MND, Huntingtons Disease and Tourettes and the prevelence in our part of the world.

This week we are joined by Health Promotion Officer and Northern Grampians Shire Vaccination Ambassador Ada Castle to bust some of the most common myths we have seen and heard regarding the COVID Vaccine