Antipodi
04-07-2010, 02:25 AM
In Australia (and I am sure elsewhere too) the issue of mental health is a hot potato to most governments ...it has for centuries been the butt of many jokes and putdowns ...fact is mental health issues are just that ...illness's that can in most cases be treated ...for instance if we get a cold we don't make fun of the victim yet many of us find time to ridicule the so called loony in our society(yes i have done it too) in this modern age I think its time we woke up and became more aware of our fellow citizens of this earth and showed a compassion and understanding that would lead to many afflicted leading a very normal happy life....below is a letter from a group in Australia trying to do something about it ..why dont you as a reader consider this too ...we as poets should be at the for front of issues like this
Dear Friend,
Did you hear? Yesterday Tony Abbott announced the Opposition's new mental health policy:
$1.5bn of investment in youth mental health services over 4 years.
It's a welcome announcement, and a huge breakthrough in our campaign for mental health
reform. In just the last week, an incredible 94,538 Australians have joined our petition -
and the pressure is clearly working. But now is no time to let up.
We need to know that Australians struggling with ill mental health, and the families who
support them, will be looked after regardless of who moves into the Lodge this election.
Now is the time to turn up the heat on the Government, and ask them to step up their
commitment to mental health. Can you help us reach 125,000 and make this one of the biggest
GetUp petitions yet? Please add your name at the link below, and forward this email to
friends and family to ask them to join:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/mentalhealth
Australian of the Year, Prof. Patrick McGorry, has requested a meeting with Prime Minister
Julia Gillard to deliver your petition in person. So far we haven't heard back from the
new PM - can you help put us over 125,000 and make this one of the biggest GetUp petitions
yet before it hits her desk?
www.getup.org.au/campaign/mentalhealth
While the Government has spent most of the year promoting its $7.3bn health reform plan -
the key element that's been missing is a bold and ambitious plan to revolutionise mental
health care.
The way forward is clear. Just this week, a conference of Australia's leading mental
health experts and organisations released their blueprint for tackling our mental health
crisis. It will require an immediate investment of approx. $600 million next year, followed
by continued investment and national reform. Click here to read more about the detailed
mental health plan and sign the petition to make it happen.
Thanks for being part of this,
The GetUp Team
Dear Friend,
Did you hear? Yesterday Tony Abbott announced the Opposition's new mental health policy:
$1.5bn of investment in youth mental health services over 4 years.
It's a welcome announcement, and a huge breakthrough in our campaign for mental health
reform. In just the last week, an incredible 94,538 Australians have joined our petition -
and the pressure is clearly working. But now is no time to let up.
We need to know that Australians struggling with ill mental health, and the families who
support them, will be looked after regardless of who moves into the Lodge this election.
Now is the time to turn up the heat on the Government, and ask them to step up their
commitment to mental health. Can you help us reach 125,000 and make this one of the biggest
GetUp petitions yet? Please add your name at the link below, and forward this email to
friends and family to ask them to join:
www.getup.org.au/campaign/mentalhealth
Australian of the Year, Prof. Patrick McGorry, has requested a meeting with Prime Minister
Julia Gillard to deliver your petition in person. So far we haven't heard back from the
new PM - can you help put us over 125,000 and make this one of the biggest GetUp petitions
yet before it hits her desk?
www.getup.org.au/campaign/mentalhealth
While the Government has spent most of the year promoting its $7.3bn health reform plan -
the key element that's been missing is a bold and ambitious plan to revolutionise mental
health care.
The way forward is clear. Just this week, a conference of Australia's leading mental
health experts and organisations released their blueprint for tackling our mental health
crisis. It will require an immediate investment of approx. $600 million next year, followed
by continued investment and national reform. Click here to read more about the detailed
mental health plan and sign the petition to make it happen.
Thanks for being part of this,
The GetUp Team