AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue 19
Launch of the COMIC Family Support Kit
On Wednesday 10th July, parents, carers, children, friends, family members and service providers attended the launch of the COMIC Family Support Kit at the Adelaide Botanical Gardens, where they heard via poetry, song and personal stories of the journey of COMIC (Children of Mentally Ill Consumers/Parents) and the development of the Kit.
COMIC was formed in February 2000 by Nerrelle Goad and Paola Mason and has been lobbying for the rights of children with a mentally ill parent since that time. Phil Robinson, Chair of the Board of Directors of AICAFMHA, who launched the Kit, reflected upon the significant achievements of COMIC, especially in furthering one of their key aims of ensuring that 'children with mentally ill consumers/parents receive information, education about mental illness and they are supported so that they do not feel alone and isolated.' He also spoke of the impact that COMIC and other individuals and organizations around Australia are having in advocating for the rights of children whose parents have a mental illness and assured them that although at times it was difficult to see progress, 'they are being listened to'. Phil congratulated COMIC on their willingness to be a partner with AICAFMHA, Auseinet and the University of Queensland in the consortium that was successful in obtaining the contract for the national Children Of Parents With A Mental Illness (COPMI) initiative. The objectives and further information on this project can be found on this site.
The Family Support Kit
The kit begins with a letter from Paola and Nerrelle, on behalf of adult children, to a parent that has been unwell. The letter is very supportive and indicates that the supporting our family kit has been put together with the aim of encouraging discussion of mental illness between the unwell parent and their children with the aim of maintaining the family unit.
The second part of the kit consists of a children's care plan which is called My Care Plan. This plan clearly outlines what to do if the child's parent suddenly becomes ill and has to go to hospital.
The third part of the kit consists of a sample letter to the school which clearly sets out the nature of the mental illness and provides the teacher with a clear plan to follow to support the child should the parent be unwell and be unable to fulfill the normal parental responsibilities.
The kit also contains helpful checklists for both mental health workers and parents, which covers all the key issues, a resource list and an evaluation sheet.
The Supporting Our Families Kit is downloadable from the COMIC website: http://www.angelfire.com/home/comic/
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue 19
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