Topic Tuesday // Tools for Advocacy // Tues 19th October, 7:00-8:30PM AEDT

Hi there forums community,

Sending my apologies that we will not be going ahead with Tonight's Topic Tuesday and it will be postponed. I was guest for tonight and have been under the weather

But don't worry, we will be setting a new date again soon so keep an eye out for more information! I am so passionate about this topic and can't wait to hear from all of you about your experiences of self, individual and systemic advocacy 🙂

Thank you for understanding and look forward to talking to you about advocacy soon

Tagging all those who have supported the Topic Tuesday post
@-Just-me @Arizona @Owen45 @Kasey @Strivetothrive @Vonney @JungleGiants @Anastasia @Snowie @chibam @RedHorse @Historylover @Former-Member @cloudcore @tomatosauce @Fluttershy1 @Shaz51

Sorry all! Please keep an eye out for the new date 🙂

Hi there Forums Community,

Really looking forward to chatting with you tonight about all things advocacy and hear your experiences 🙂

Just tagging those that supported the original post back in September, we would love to see you here tonight 7pm AEDT (Sydney time) 🙂

@Praski @Lyra_reachout @Longingtobelong @Odet @Unic0rn @YinandYang76 @Owen45 @Kasey @Strivetothrive @Vonney @Historylover @Former-Member @Zoe7 @Lurla @Millieme @BPDSurvivor @-Just-me @cloudcore @tomatosauce @Fluttershy1 @Shaz51 @JungleGiants @Anastasia @Snowie @chibam @RedHorse @SageSolid @Eve7 @Spirit_Healer

If this is your first Topic Tuesday, we have a how to guide to help you join in the discussion! How To Guide: Topic Tuesday

Good evening everyone, Topic Tuesday will begin in 20 minutes and so I'm just tagging all of those who have supported the post

@Praski @Lyra_reachout @Longingtobelong @Odet @Unic0rn @YinandYang76 @Owen45 @Kasey @Strivetothrive @Vonney @Historylover @Zoe7 @Lurla @Millieme @BPDSurvivor @-Just-me @tomatosauce @Shaz51 @Fluttershy1 @RedHorse @JungleGiants @Anastasia @Snowie @chibam

Tagging members online in case you would like to join this discussion 🙂

@BlueBay @Bow @Fluttershy1 @Determined @Eden1919 @HenryX @Former-Member @Meowmy @Former-Member @Former-Member @MDT @frog @lev15

Tonight we are talking about tools for advocacy 🙂

Can I just say I feel there is a lot of stigma still around for mental health, I feel like emails, calls, appointments, are always delayed and I have to make more of an effort in contacting people, like it's not mutual etc I've been experiencing it, but I think being resilient is good

Welcome @Former-Member , welcome! I completely agree that there is a lot of stigma around mental health. Tonight we will be discussing advocacy and we hope that you'll find this space valuable. Often we have to work really hard to communicate in the health space and that could be a form of self advocacy

Hi there forums community,

It's time to get started! For those that are new here, if you get stuck navigating this discussion, please feel free to let us know by using the @ button and mentioning myself or @Former-Member . We also have a how to guide for Topic Tuesday to help you out.

Tonight our special guest is our very own community manager @Daisydreamer !

We are also joined by @Former-Member , one of our peer support workers here at SANE.

To start off, we would love to hear from you: What are you most interested in hearing about tonight?

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This discussion aims to provide a safe for us to share our thoughts, questions and experiences, and hold a space to hear from others. If at any time you are experiencing distress, or would like to talk to someone, the SANE Helpline is here for you. You also access urgent help at the top of any page on the forums

Happy to see where this goes tonight @cloudcore @Daisydreamer

Hi everyone! Great to see you here tonight

I might start by introducing myself Here on the forums, I am the Community Manager. I am really excited to be here tonight to talk about one of my favourite topics.

A little bit about me, for more than a decade before I started at SANE I was a lived experience advocate, educator and Peer Worker. In fact, I would say that starting a career in advocacy was the turning point in my recovery.

One of my biggest passions is advocacy. As people with lived experience, we are the experts in our own experience and our stories have power.

From my early experiences in the mental health system many years ago, I saw early on the importance of knowing my rights, and using my voice to ensure my goals and my needs were front of mind in recovery planning.

In later years, advocating alongside others as a peer support worker, I learnt that we can be help others to advocate for themselves and empower those we are walking alongside. Advocating within services, I am constantly reminded and motivated by the power our stories and our knowledge can have in shaping services.

And that’s what I am here to talk about today! We will talk a bit about how you can advocate for your recovery goals and needs with services, friends and family. For those supporting a loved one, how you can support a loved one or advocate alongside. For those who are interested in taking the next step to advocate within services or on committees, we will talk about skills and resources for representation.