Speeches

Schizophrenia Awareness Week 2004 Summary, Chief Executive Officers' Report by Rob Ramjan

The 2004 Schizophrenia Awareness Week was the biggest and best ever with events being held in Sydney, Wagga Wagga, the Hunter and Tamworth and many other parts of NSW.

This year, the Fellowship organised a Luncheon at Parliament House, hosted by David Barr, MP for Manly. Close to 200 people attended to hear Anne Deveson’s moving and motivational presentation.

Anne Deveson
at the Parliamentary Lunch

Xavier Amador was the undisputed highlight of this year’s Awareness Week. His presentation at the Symposium and his two workshops at the Fellowship all received high and deserved praise. Many people expressed their appreciation for his kind, gentle approach as well as his great insights into schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses.

Xavier Amador
at the Symposium

The Poetry Competition was again a great success, with a very high standard of work submitted. An inaugural Carer’s Award was presented this year and was won by Carol Grigg for her piece “My Asperger Marriage.”

The Symposium began with themes of inadequate service provision and the history of poor funding for people with a mental illness. “What we are asking is that within the next five years a serious effort be made to incrementally increase mental health funding to 16% of the total health budget.” said Frank Walker, in his opening speech.

It ended on a high with exceptional presentations by three consumer speakers, Desley Casey, Peter Schaecken and Leanne Nicholas. Dr Glenys Dore presented a positive approach to working with people who have mental illness and a drug/alcohol problem, while Angela Siggens from ARAFMI spoke about the Carer Services Mapping Project.

Selected speeches from the symposium can be viewed and downloaded.

Regional activities were also very successful this year with a day out at a Vineyard in Tamworth, lawn bowls in Wagga and dinner in Maitland. The Fellowship would like to thank our tireless workers and volunteers for their efforts. Awareness Week could not happen without you!

More from the Normality campaign

We will be building on the work of the last two years with an Avant Card promotion and a television commercial on the theme of Normality. This campaign is designed to point out to people that, with the right support, people living with schizophrenia can have better and more fulfilling lives. The support needed includes the right treatment, availability of appropriate medications, recovery and rehabilitation services and, of course, supportive community attitudes. The campaign materials are designed to make the viewers think about their attitudes to schizophrenia and want to find out more about the illness.