Panel discussions; Queer Joy and the Mental Health of Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Displaced Peoples

Investing in queer joy and mental health is key to us being our favourite selves

How and why should we invest in queer people's joy and in the mental health of LGBTIQA+ refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people’s (RASDP) communities? Well, that's what we are going to discuss! Join us and get involved in figuring out how organisations, funding bodies, philanthropists, community members, allies, the broader mental health sector, and community can contribute to addressing these issues.

We will be hosting two panels at the Victorian Pride Centre: The first will centre on how and why investing in queer joy radically and sustainably improves the mental and emotional health of the LGBTIQA+ community. This is especially important given the rise in homophobia, transphobia, and vitriol we have seen in the broader Australian community. We know that people who engage in joy more frequently, navigate life easier and with a bigger sense of hope. And so, we are interested in how queer people can find and engage in joy in the face of today’s world.

The second panel and audience discussion will focus on the importance and timeliness of increasing support for the mental health of LGBTIQA+ RASDP communities. The LGBTQIA+ RASDP communities face unique challenges to addressing, improving, and maintaining their mental health and wellbeing whilst living in Australia and navigating Australian systems. These systems often add to the anxiety, depression, stress, and fear that many people from these communities experience in addition to layered discrimination [such as racist homophobia and xenophobic transphobia]. We will also touch on why the mental health sector needs to consider how mental health is conceptualised differently in different cultures and how this impacts upon the services, activities and support we can offer of the LGBTIQA+ RASDP communities. You will hear from mental health practitioners, LGBTQIA+ RASDP community members and allies.

This event was previously listed as: "Invest in Queer Joy; Prioritise Refugee, Asylum Seeker, Displaced People's Mental Health".