Help with Utility Bills

In Queensland you can get assistance with Utility Bills from Home Energy Emergency Assistance Scheme once every 2 years for upto $720, conditions apply, more details at:

https://www.qld.gov.au/community/cost-of-living-support/concessions/energy-concessions/home-energy-emergency-assistance-scheme

No Interest Loans (NILs)

Borrow up to $2000 for:

• Household items (fridge, washing machine, furniture + more)
• Education fees & equipment
• Laptops & technology
• Car repairs & registration
• Medical & dental costs

Borrow up to $3,000 for:

• Bond & rent in advance
• Rates
• If you have been impacted by a natural disaster

Find out if your eligible at https://goodshep.org.au/services/loans/

Financial Counselling

Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) is the peak body for financial counsellors in Australia.

FCA is the national voice for the financial counselling profession in Australia. It is a not-for-profit organisation that:

• Provides resources and support for financial counsellors;
• Advocates for a fairer marketplace;
• Works to raise the profile of financial counsellors;
• Advocates to increase access to financial counselling; and
• Works to improve hardship processes for people in financial difficulty.

(expert from) https://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/

Christians Against Poverty

The following churches in the Lockyer Valley area run courses:

Trax Christian Church

26 Sea Eagle Drive,

LOWOOD,

Contact: Pastor Mike Behrends 0434 528 548

Fernvale Community Church

1483 Brisbane Valley Highway, Fernvale, QLD, 4306

Contact: Greg Muller 07 5426 7878

Catalyst Church

142 Pine Mountain Road,

BRASSALL, 4305

Contact: Mr & Mrs Richard & Katrina Latham 07 3813 4999

Whitehill Church of Christ

219 Whitehill Rd,

Raceview , QLD, 4305

Contact: Mr Darrel Ponter 07 3288 0186

Cityhope Church

7 Rex Hills Drive,

Ripley, 4306

Contact: Mr Kim Rolfe 07 3288 0611

Hope for the future.

Centrelink Payment and Service Finder

You may also find the Centrelink website helpful, they have a payment and services finder section that you go through and answer a few questions and they give you a list of available services and payments https://www.centrelink.gov.au/apps/clkonline_cof/payment-service-finder/payment-service-finder-start

Crisis Support Numbers

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact the following crisis services:
Emergency 000
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
MensLine 1300 78 99 78
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

In Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death in men and women under the age of 45 – eight people take their own lives every day. For every suicide, there are tragic ripple effects for friends, families, colleagues and the broader community.

8.6 Australians die every day by suicide. That’s more than double the road toll

Thoughts and behaviors,

Most people who contemplate suicide are looking for an end to psychological pain, not to die. It can be helpful to conceptualise this as the three I’s, summarising how the person sees their emotional pain and mental distress they want to escape from:

• Intolerable – the pain is unbearable
• Inescapable – no other way out
• Interminable – no end in sight

Have a Safety Plan

Your plan is personal to you and includes steps to help you:

• know your warning signs,
• make your environment safe
• distract yourself with activities you can do or people you can be with
• remember things that make you feel strong

You can create your plan by yourself, or you can ask someone for help.

https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/beyond-now/Create-your-Beyond-Now-suicide-safety-plan-online

Links to life:

• Involvement in the church community
• Responsibilities such as children or other family or even a pet
• Friends & Hobbies (piano, gardening, cooking, etc.)
• Relationship with God

What did you used to enjoy doing?

Do you have any hobbies or  pet?

What music do you like to listen to?’

Hope for the future.

Create a Hope Kit

A Hope Kit can include things like

• Pictures of family and friends
• Her Journal with coping strategies and her Safety Plan
• Coping Cards listing helpful thoughts
• Gym Membership or other exercise plan to help combat depression
• Parents and friends phone numbers, to seek social support
• A wash cloth as a cue to use it as the coping strategy of placing a cool wet cloth on her face and focusing on the cool sensation
• Location and numbers of nearest emergency department

Create a set of Coping Cards

Have a set of cards with encouraging or uplifting thoughts or phrases

• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• God will never leave me or forsake me
• I am never abandoned I am never alone
• God is with me
• God is for me who can be against me
• No weapon formed against me will prosper
• My battle in not against flesh and blood
• Remember to pur on the full armour of God
• KISS Keep It Sweet and Simple
• When you have done all to stand Stand!
• God’s grace is sufficient
• I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He planned in advance for me to do
• He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever hope or imagine
• God’s plans are to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future
• I am not just on this earth because my parents had a child, I am on this earth because Daddy God wanted a daughter/son
• The devil came to rob, kill and destroy but Christ came that I would have life ABUNDANTLY
• By your stripes Lord, I am healed
• I will walk and not stumble, run and not faint.
• Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you
• ‘This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ‘ Hebrews 6:19

Grounding Exercises can also be very helpful

Therapy in a Nutshell have a free course on Grounding Skills that can be helpful

Do something Fun each day

Support Crisis Numbers

The Way Back Support Service

1300 168 839

TheWayBack@rfq.com.au

Mental health access line

1300 MH CALL (1300 642 255)

Common Myths around Suicide

Some of the assumptions that shape our attitudes and beliefs about suicide may

be incorrect. Study the table below. How many of the myths about suicide are

you holding as true?

People who attempt suicide want to die

• People who attempt suicide are often confused about whether they want to live or die. They are often looking at suicide as a way to end unbearable emotional distress

People who talk about suicide are just attention-seekers

• Many people who attempt or complete suicide have spoken to someone about their intentions. This talk is a cry for help and should be taken seriously.

Talking about suicide may give the person the idea to complete suicide

• Raising concerns directly can help the person to feel supported and valued.

Once a person is intent on harming themselves they can’t be stopped

• Suicide is preventable. If people receive the support they need they are less likely to attempt suicide.

All people who attempt suicide are depressed

• Not everyone who attempts suicide is depressed Suicide attempts are rarely repeated

A prior suicide attempt is considered a risk factor for further harm.

• A large number of people who attempt suicide will attempt suicide again

Real Christians do not experience suicidal thoughts

• Christians become depressed. Psalm 102 depicts someone struggling with symptoms consistent with depression. Elsewhere in Scripture, we read about the despondency of Rebekah (Gen 27:46); Rachel (Gen 30:1); Job (Job 3:24) and Jeremiah (Jer 20:18). The Old Testament records people with a close relationship to God who wished for death (Job 3:20-22; 7:15-16; Num 11:15; 1 Kings 19:4; Jon 4:8).

Prayer is all a Christian needs – just pray harder

• Healing requires prayer, but prayer is sometimes not all that goes into healing. There are two reasons why sometimes prayer is not enough: (1) God is not in the business of eliminating our suffering; ans (2) while our soul needs healing through prayer, our body might also need healing through medical or psychological interventions, which take time (Mason, 2014).

Depressed people should just ‘buck up’

• A mental health problem is a common risk factor for suicide, and depression is the most common disorder associated with suicide. People who are depressed cannot snap out of it. If they could, they would.

Useful Links

https://www.beyondblue.org.au

https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/beyond-now

https://www.mycompass.org.au

https://www.onefootforward.org.au

https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/

• Practising your faith
• Reducing isolation through supportive relationships
• maintain your health by caring for your physical and mental health by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep
• relaxing through having fun, leisure activities or hobbies
• remembering why you are doing what you are doing
• reducing your load by setting boundaries, human need is insatiable and an unforgiving slave master
• regular self debriefing
• regular debriefing with peers
• managing your thoughts and perceived failures
• seeing a counsellor
• partnering with other professionals
• grounding exercises can be very helpful

This book should probably be required reading for all Pastors and Chaplins

https://koorong.com/product/preventing-suicide-a-handbook-for-pastors-chaplains-and_9780830841172

NewAccess – Find a mental health coach

Coping with stress can be hard. Your emotions and mental state can have a big impact on your life, affecting your sleep, work and relationships.

NewAccess is a confidential guided 6-session mental health coaching program for anyone feeling stressed or overwhelmed about everyday life issues.

Learn more about the NewAccess programs offers help for individuals & small business owners Or find out more about NewAccess Workplaces.

NewAccess is currently available in parts of:

• New South Wales
• Queensland.

Any suicidal thought or act of deliberate self-harm points to significant distress for the person. It also poses a potential risk of injury or death and as such should be taken seriously, especially when working with people with a mental illness, as these individuals are at greater risk of suicide than the general population

CRISIS SUPPORT NUMBERS

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact the following crisis services:

Emergency 000

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

MensLine 1300 78 99 78

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

Progressive Muscle Relaxation sequence: (Tense each part, hold and then release).

1. Right hand and forearm. Make a fist with your right hand.

2. Right upper arm. Bring your right forearm up to your shoulder to “make a muscle”.

3. Left hand and forearm.

4. Left upper arm.

5. Forehead. Raise your eyebrows as high as they will go, as though you were surprised by something.

6. Eyes and cheeks. Squeeze your eyes tight shut.

7. Mouth and jaw. Open your mouth as wide as you can, as you might when you are yawning.

8. Neck.  Be very careful as you tense these muscles. Face forward and then pull your head back slowly, as though you are looking up to the ceiling.

9. Shoulders. Tense the muscles in your shoulders as you bring your shoulders up towards your ears.

10. Shoulder blades/Back. Push your shoulder blades back, trying almost to touch them together, so that your chest is pushed forward.

11. Chest and stomach. Breathe in deeply, filling up your lungs and chest with air.

12. Hips and buttocks. Squeeze your buttock muscles

13. Right upper leg. Tighten your right thigh.

14. Right lower leg.Do this slowly and carefully to avoid cramps. Pull your toes towards you to stretch the calf muscle.

15. Right foot. Curl your toes downwards.

16. Left upper leg. Repeat as for right upper leg.

17. Left lower leg. Repeat as for right lower leg.

18. Left foot. Repeat as for right foot.

Are you mentally & physically fit?

It is ok to admit you are not ok and ask for help

Support My Walk for Mental Health Research
Did you know that 1 in 5 Australians experience symptoms of mental illness each year?

In fact, every day in Australia, 9 people will die by suicide.

Mental illness can be debilitating and can have a devastating impact on not only those living with it, but those around them.

https://www.onefootforward.org.au/fundraisers/gerowynjensen

CRISIS SUPPORT NUMBERS

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact the following crisis services:
Emergency 000
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
MensLine 1300 78 99 78
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

• Have a think about what you have done in the past to help you be safe
• when you are ready reach out for help
• think about other options to keep yourself and your children safe

You coiuld

Call 000 if you or your children are in immediate danger

Have a bag packed with certified copies (at least) preferrably original copies of documents like:

• Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Centrelink documents
• medical documents
• Legal documents
• things your partner may not allow you access to
• Cash for short term needs

It can be a good idea to keep this bag in a safe place and potentially at a friends place.

Family Violence effects everyone

1800RESPECT

CRISIS SUPPORT NUMBERS

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact the following crisis services:

Emergency 000

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

MensLine 1300 78 99 78

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467