WAYAHEAD Annual Report 2020

WayAhead staff at Fair Day stand with many people walking by and engaging with the stand. Bright orange lettering saying WayAhead across the top of the stand.

About this Annual Report
For the first time ever we are trialling our Annual Report online. We think it looks pretty schmick. If you are having any problems with this new format you can download it as a PDF here or you can get in contact with us on 02 9339 6000.

Picture of Liz standing in front of a marble wall, she is smiling

“I must thank my wonderful team
who never stop to amaze me in how
adaptable and creative they can be,
and how committed they are to better
mental health for our community”

Elizabeth Priestley
WayAhead CEO

There is no doubt that these 12 months have bought a number of changes.

Firstly, we moved house – after 13 years in Woolloomooloo we moved to a new office in Pyrmont that is modern and bright. There was some sadness in moving from such a familiar area to another part of the city where we had to adapt to transport and learning what the local area offers. On the whole it went smoothly thanks to work of our staff. It was made a little less painful with our partner organisations from William Street (Mental Health Carers NSW, SMART Recovery, International Social Services, and The Men’s Table) moving with us. 

Secondly, no surprise here, there was COVID-19. One month after moving office we started to work from home. Our new office was quiet, and we set up our home offices. For some it was easy, for others more difficult. Technology provided some hurdles although when up and running, it is essential to our ongoing success. We have all become skilled in using Zoom, running webinars, and connecting remotely. WayAhead has often talked about using this type of technology and now we are all doing it.

Thirdly, our funding has been transferred from the Mental Health Commission NSW to the NSW Ministry of Health. We have enjoyed working closely with the Commission over the last few years and we hope our partnership will continue, though with a slightly changed relationship.

There are many people I would like to thank and unfortunately there is not enough room to do justice to everyone. But I must thank my wonderful team who never stop to amaze me in how adaptable and creative they can be, and how committed they are to better mental health for our community. Thanks to our Board who provide the strong foundation for the WayAhead staff.

Finally, a big thank you to the people who regularly connect with us – whether volunteering, offering their expertise or advice, or just calling us on the phone to have a conversation. They all help us to work better. Thank you to everyone.

Elizabeth Priestley
CEO

Read Liz’s full report

“It is a great privilege to be part of an active and engaged group of directors, overseeing the governance of WayAhead”

Dr Meg Smith
President
Sharyn McGee
Chairperson

Well what a year! From the fires to the pandemic, individuals, communities and organisations have all been impacted. WayAhead has had to respond to these challenges.

As a state leader in mental health promotion, our goal is to facilitate mental health programs that have positive impacts on people’s lives. From the beginning of the pandemic, WayAhead followed the advice of health authorities very closely by revising our everyday work practices and making it possible for staff to work from home. Our scheduled face-to-face events were disrupted, for example, our WayAhead Workplaces meetings and Public Anxiety Forums.

But, due to the dedication of our staff, we were able to respond to the changed environment by facilitating the development of online opportunities for people to access our Anxiety Support Groups and Small Steps forums, and of course, our Mental Health Information Line, online Fact Sheets and the WayAhead Directory were still available.

As President and Chairperson, it is a great privilege to be part of an active and engaged group of directors, overseeing the governance of WayAhead. This year the Board focused on developing our Strategic Plan for 2019-2023 and supporting our staff and volunteers in new premises and during such difficult times. Our Board, our staff and volunteers are a diverse group of people, dedicated to championing the emotional and mental wellbeing of all people through education, information, support and advocacy. We want to thank everyone, the Board, CEO, staff and volunteers for your commitment and dedication. May the next year be brighter!

Dr Meg Smith

Sharyn McGee

Read full report
Black and white picture of Dr Meg Smith and Sharyn McGee

We work towards building a society that understands, values and contributes to the best possible mental health and wellbeing for all

Two smiling WayAhead staff in front of a rainbow background from Fair Day

We tackle prejudice and
stigma to encourage
people to seek help

We know that there are number of barriers that can discourage people from reaching out so we work to dismantle them and share ways of learning more and finding support.

What we did this year:

  • As part of Mental Health Month, we created extensive downloadable resources, including a Schools Pack to support mental health learning in the classroom, and content supporting social connection and stigma reduction in communities.
  • Our Perinatal Depression and Anxiety Awareness Week campaign, “Your baby is 1 in a million, are you 1 in 5?”, continued in 2019 following overwhelmingly positive feedback, and ongoing demand for resources. 
  • We awarded 23 small grants for PNDA Awareness Week Events, with responses to the events funded by the grants overwhelmingly positive.
  • We also printed and posted 15,000 resources across the state, with demand for these resources continuing throughout the year.
  • We also provided speakers for several PNDA Awareness Week activities to share experiences and provide audiences with insights into perinatal mental health.
  • We collaborated with Western Sydney University to develop and launch the 10 Tips to Stress Less at Uni, which were informed by research and extensive consultation with students from three universities. The project also included a design competition for students, with the winning student’s work adopted as the tips’ official designs.
  • We attended Mardi Gras’ Fair Day once again in 2020, sharing positive mental health messages and WayAhead-branded collateral, like rainbow badges, as well as gathering feedback from attendees about actions they undertook to take care of their own mental health.
  • The WayAhead Workplaces Lead presented on the program and on workplace mental health and wellbeing topics to a number of different audiences including: staff at Fossil; the NSW Government Social Media Community of Practice; the Probus Club Mt Colah for Mental Health Month; the Wellness Wise Practitioner training course.
  • The WayAhead Workplaces Lead also delivered: the opening address for PEXA’s Mental Health Month breakfast, where they chose to donate to WayAhead; a panel at the Get Healthy at Work 2.0 re-launch; facilitation of panel discussions at the New Zealand Mental Health Conference in Christchurch; and co-chairing the Workplace Mental Health Symposium in Brisbane.
Read More
Attendees from a WayAhead Workplaces meeting clapping

We lower barriers to
accessing information and
finding the right support

Our usual direct delivery of information and support to the community was affected in the last quarter of the year by the impacts of COVID-19, which exacerbated the need that people had in accessing support and information. Though challenging, it has been a year of reflection and rejuvenation for many of our programs, with many working to deliver information online.

What we did this year:

  • We responded to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic by writing and sharing a series of articles, shared through social media and email, about taking care of your mental health,  staying connected in spite of distancing, and tips from our team on tackling isolation, with our Facebook post on taking care of your mental health reaching 11,225 people through 44 shares.
  • Face-to-face support groups were suspended in March and continued online, with the delivery of some groups online to continue into the future as an ongoing offering through the program.
  • We held 241 face-to-face support groups at locations across NSW and 39 online groups, with 1,810 visits across these sessions.
  • Our 55 trained volunteers gave 1,115 hours of their time to facilitating the support groups.
  • We began our collaboration with Mental Health Carers NSW in resourcing their phone line in a year-long trial.
  • In September 2019, we held a public forum on anxiety in Queanbeyan with 51 attendees, although we were unable to hold more due to bushfires, flooding and COVID-19 restrictions.
  • We responded to the impacts of bushfires and COVID-19 on children through adding additional information to our Small Steps sessions about childhood anxiety.
  • We held 58 face-to-face Small Steps seminars and 32 online Small Steps webinars using Zoom, reaching a total of 2,038 people.
  • These Small Steps sessions were attended by 160 teachers and 1,238 parents face-to-face, and 610 people online, with attendees from every state in Australia, as well as attendees from Spain, UK, Portugal, USA and Singapore.
  • In October 2019, the Small Steps and Anxiety Educator presented a Small Steps session for Coca Cola staff, with 35 attendees in the room plus additional online attendees around their North Sydney and New Zealand offices.
  • A new WayAhead Workplaces member was profiled in our Members Spotlight each month in direct response to member feedback about wanting to know more about who our members are.
  • We refreshed our annual 10 Tips to Stress Less in the Holidays, for the 2019/20 Summer holidays. 
  • We developed a Natural Disaster Support page to support workplaces, a compilation of resources and services for with those affected by the 2019/2020 droughts, bushfires and floods in NSW and Queensland.
  • We also developed a Workplace Wellbeing and COVID-19 Support page, which covers mental health and social connection, financial wellness, small business, working from home, and WHS, and shares useful webinars, podcasts and short courses.

Read More

We recognise the importance of good mental health and wellbeing in our communities

WayAhead leads a number of initiatives that encourage conversations around good mental health and wellbeing in our communities. These include Mental Health Month, the Mental Health Matters Awards, and the WayAhead Workplaces program.

What we did this year:

  • We awarded $35,000 in grants to 48 Mental Health Month projects across the state in 5 categories (General, Youth, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTIQA+)
  • Events sponsored through our grants program reached approximately 14,000 individuals across the state during Mental Health Month.
  • We mailed out 23,000 Mental Health Month printed resources across NSW to community groups, workplaces and health and other service providers.
  • On the 27th of September 2019, we hosted 175 people, including special guests the Hon. Bronnie Taylor MLC, NSW Minister for Mental Health, and the NSW Mental Health Commissioner, Catherine Lourey, at a luncheon to celebrate the winners of the Mental Health Matters Awards winners and launch Mental Health Month 2019.
  • Increased public relations surrounding the Mental Health Matters Awards also meant that we reached new audiences through increased media coverage across a range of outlets.
Read more
Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation's family support workers Shantel Simpson and Libby Wicks with chief executive officer Jane Bender (centre). Photo: Jessica Worboys

Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation wins state award for Warranggal Dhiyan program

Jewish Care staff staning in front of the Mental health Matters logo

Clair Vernon, CEO Jewish Care making mental health better in NSW

Members of the Rainbow Wave Festival Committee during the preparations for the festival.

Fling, Rainbow Wave Festival announced as winners for 2019 Mental Matters Awards

Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation's family support workers Shantel Simpson and Libby Wicks receiving their Mental Health Matters Award from Bronwyn Taylor MP

A yarn with Jane Bender, CEO of Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation

Geographic spread of
Mental Health Month
activities in 2019

  • Posted resources
  • Grant recipients
View map
Yellow Share the journey poster with meandering footsteps going in an out of every day activities

The 2019 Mental Health Month theme ‘Share the Journey’ is all about ways we can connect with others, both for our own health and wellbeing, as well as theirs.

76% of respondents to our Mental Health Month Survey reported that the campaign message, Share the Journey, influenced the way they think about social connections.
71% report they intend to do something to improve social connection as a result of the Share the Journey campaign messaging.
Mental Health Matters Awards gold logo

Mental Health Matters Awards Winners 2019

Mental Health Matters Youth Award
FLING Physical Theatre for “My Black Dog”

Bega Valley

FLING performers in "My Black Dog" falling off school chairs on a darkened stage, teachers trying to save them
Play
NSW Mental Health Commissioner’s Community Champion Award
Dr Jonathon Ho

Wagga Wagga

Dr Ho wearing a striking green tailored suit that he made himself, he is smiling
Play
Workplace Wellbeing Award – Sponsored by WayAhead Workplaces
The Freelance Jungle

Windang/National

Members of the Freelance Jungle at a meet up
Play
Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Award
Warranggal Dhiyan (Strong Families) program, Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation

Gunnedah

Warranggal Dhiyan staff member in front of a wall with an Aboriginal artwork
Play
Mental Health Matters Rainbow Inclusion Award – Sponsored by ACON
Rainbow Waves Festival Committee, Pambula Mental Health Service

Bega Valley

Rainbow Waves colourful sign
Play
Outstanding Achievement in Mental Health Promotion Award
Mission Australia, Connections Program – Reducing Loneliness in Far West NSW

Broken Hill

Participants of the connections program sitting around a large table at a cafe
Play
Mental Health Matters Community Initiative Award
Jewish Suicide Prevention Strategy, JewishCare NSW

Sydney

Isobel Shapira
Play
Leadership through Lived Experience Award
FND Australia Support Services Incorporated

Sydney/National

Up close image of Katherine Gill smiling
Play
91% of respondents to the 2019 Annual WayAhead Workplaces Members’ Survey reported they had better access to workplace health and wellbeing information and resources as a result of their membership.
Nearly 85% of respondents reported applying knowledge or making changes to their work environment as a result of being a Workplaces member, including new ideas or techniques, launching a new health and wellbeing initiative, and sharing information about health and wellbeing at team meetings
85% of respondents have promoted WayAhead Workplaces to others, including potential members, people in their own organisation, and personal contacts

We work collaboratively
to improve the lives of those
with lived experience

During 2019-20, WayAhead placed significant focus on ensuring the mental health and wellbeing needs of people in NSW were represented through political advocacy. We continued to deliver our pioneering WayAhead Workplaces program, and also worked with various partners to inform our work and reach new audiences.

What we did this year:

  • Following the NSW state election, we wrote to all elected members of parliament to inform them of our work and invite them to meet to discuss the mental health and wellbeing needs of their electorates, resulting in dozens of meetings with MPs and consistent relationship-building with the Minister, Shadow Minister, and mental health spokespeople across parties.
  • We also met with NSW federal members of parliament and senators at Parliament House, Canberra.
  • We provided a submission to the Productivity Commission into Mental Health, focussing on four key areas: ensuring future mental health systems are based on lived experience; early intervention and prevention; workplaces; and mental health workforce.
  • We provided a submission on the Second Exposure Draft of Religious Discrimination that welcomed legislative efforts to remove discrimination, including religious discrimination, with the caveat that it not have any adverse impacts on those living with mental ill health and other groups that experience discrimination, both historically and currently.
  • Our Workplaces Lead continued on as part of the SafeWork NSW Workplace Mental Health Program Reference Group, consulting on program content, marketing, and future developments.
  • The Workplaces Lead also continued to co-host and facilitate the NSW Workplace Mental Health Network group with Beyond Blue, made up of 13 key stakeholders to improve sector communication and working partnerships.
  • We held quarterly WayAhead Workplaces meetings for our 102 member organisations and individuals, and although we couldn’t hold our key Annual Forum due to COVID-19, our November 2019 meetings had the biggest attendance ever, with 79 attendees at our Sydney meeting and 34 attendees at our Brisbane meeting.
  • We worked with the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s NDIS Reform Group to take calls related to the restrictive practices authorisation consultation in July 2019, answering people’s questions and assisting those who found it difficult to complete their online survey.
  • We collaborated with PANDA and NSW Health to co-design and deliver peer advocacy training to people with lived experiences of perinatal mental health issues, using co-design principles, with a WayAhead staff member providing input as the lived experience consultant.
  • We were involved in several co-design activities, including focus-groups for the 2020-2023 Mental Health Month theme, and the Reimagine Today website resource co-design process with the Mental Health Coordinating Council and the National LGBTI Health Alliance.
Read more
Participants at a WayAhead Workplaces meeting raising their hands in response to the speaker

“Connection to understanding people who care and help … a life saving service”

Support group participant

Our partnerships

We work across many initiatives with a number of partners, without whom we would not be able to undertake our work for better mental health for all.

NSW Government Logo - Red Warratah and blue text
Mental Health Commission logo - blue text
ACON logo - rainbow flower "here for health"
Sane Australia logo - Blue and black text
Mental Health Carers NSW logo - green circle with group of people inside "empowering carers for mental health"
Black Dog Institute logo - Orange had making peace sign with shadow of dog, black text
International Social Service Australia logo - blue gradient swish character
MIEACT logo - bright blue, orange and green text "mental health & wellbeing education & training providers
MAD Music logo - yellow/orange bold text with dk grey italic under "the sound of empathy"
WEAVE logo - thin coloured lines make up the word weave "Youth Community Services"
SMART Recovery logo - yellow and blue flower icon and text "Life beyond addiction"
The Mens Table logo - blue squarish speech bubble with stick figures of men making a crown and table like shape "Men serving men"
Official Visitors Program logo - OVP written in orange, purple and green stencil text
Mad pride logo - bright blue paint drips text
NSW Government | Communities and Justice logo - red Waratah and dk blue text
Community Services #1 logo - tree made of multicoloured leaves with three person shaped figures to make up trunk "enable . enhance . enrich"
Ending Loneliness Together - orange words and three ".}" to make three faces (the full stop is up high like an eye)
Transcultural Mental Health Centre logo - blue jigsaw shape with a face and a globe being pieced together

WayAhead are also members of:

  • Australian Health Promotion Association
  • Ending Loneliness  Together
  • Mental Health Australia
  • Mental Health Coordinating Council
  • NCOSS
  • Our Community
6 excited staff winning a rosette at the xmas party, one dressed as a female Grinch

Our people

Our staff are our most important assets, with decades of experience among them. Many have dedicated their working lives to better mental health and wellbeing for all, through working for WayAhead.

We have a number of initiatives that support our staff, including our Employee Assistance Program, wellbeing initiatives, and Indigenous cultural awareness training through Your Mob Learning.

  • Our Employment Assistance Program provider was changed to Uprise, an internet- and phone-based service that provides wellbeing learning modules, access to coaching calls and monthly webinars on wellbeing topics.
  • We continued to deliver a daily half-hour wellbeing allowance, with staff logging 358 hours of wellbeing activities, the most popular of which were walking, gardening, working out and trivia.
  • A number of activities were also led by staff, including mindfulness meditation, office gardening club, jigsaw puzzles and riddles, and our educational Lunch & Learn series.
  • Monthly birthday celebrations, trivia, and drinks & nibbles consistently well attended by staff, with trivia shifting to a fortnightly online event once everyone began working remotely.
  • We also held an end-of-year celebration in the office with a decorating contest, scavenger hunt, and a donation to the NSW Rural Fire Service, with staff encouraged to “Share your celebration” through dress, music and food, following on the 2019 Mental Health Month theme, “Share the journey”.
  • Flu shots were also provided for staff who wanted one.
Read more

  • Our People
  • Staff
  • Board
  • Volunteers
WayAhead staff, board and volunteers at the 2019 Mental Health Matters awards. Everyone waving, laughing or smiling while standing around the lectern on the stage.

CEO
Elizabeth Priestley

Senior Manager
(until January 2020)
Marge Jackson

Mental Health Promotion Officer
Asha Zappa

Anxiety Support Group Program Lead
Rachel Flint

Understanding Anxiety Programs Assistant
Melanie Adams

Event Management & Understanding Anxiety Program Support
Caryn Shipp

Small Steps and Anxiety Educator
Julie Leitch

Small Steps Program Facilitator
Simon Alaba
Dominique Sherley
Merrick Powell

Membership and Information Officer
Terri Marsh

Information Officer
Paul Leonard

Project Assistant – Mental Health Information
(until May 2020)
Sanju Gangoli

Corporate Affairs Manager
Ben Graham

WayAhead Workplaces Program Lead
(until June 2020)
Sharon Leadbetter

WayAhead Workplaces Program Officer
Lynley Hurst

Graphic Designer
Leanne Kelly

Writer
Tasnim Hossain

Collective Purpose (CP) General Manager
Matthew Stanley

CP HR Support Coordinator
Cyril O’Connor

CP Hub Coordinator
(until August 2019)
Ashleigh Morton

CP Hub Administration Officer
Tasmin Hill

Anxiety Disorders Support & Information Officer (until October 2019) and CP Hub Assistant
Luke McGrath

CP Accountant
Supun Mundigala

CP Accounts Assistant
Vera Velevska

CP Assistant Accountant
(until October 2019)
Felicia Ng

RoleBoard MemberStart/finishAttendance at meetings
PresidentDr Meg Smith OAM⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Chair PersonSharyn McGee⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
TreasurerDon Murray⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Vice-ChairpersonStephen Bourne⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
General MembersDavid Harper⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜▫️▫️
Pam Barker⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜▫️▫️▫️
Ben Wymer(from Nov 2019)⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Dr. Emma Sedlak(from Nov 2019)⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Frank Flannery(until Nov 2019)⬜⬜⬜⬜
Prof. Viviana Wuthrich(until Nov 2019)⬜⬜⬜▫️
Linda Hurst(until Nov 2019)⬜⬜▫️▫️
Volunteers

Michela Folli

Luke McGrath

Voula Sofiou

Along with our many dedicated volunteer support group facilitators

Students

Zoe Carroll

Sabrina Haddad

Peter Ju

Amy Lin

Ogechukwu Maduka (Blessing)

Carolyn Nguyen

Adepeju Onamusi (PJ)

Amelia Parsonage

Cedar Smith

Michael Tafft

Anxiety Disorders Advisory Committee

Frank Flannery

A/Prof Meg Smith

Prof. Lisa Lampe

Prof. Rocco Crino

Dr Ann Wignall

Lisa Tran

Luke McGrath

Stephen Bourne

Jenny Learmont

Prof Ron Rapee

Read 2019/2020 financial reports here

Download this report as a PDF here

WayAhead is funded by
NSW Ministry of Health

WayAhead is an ACNC registered
Australian Charity and is endorsed
by the Quality Improvement Council.

WayAhead Programs
WayAhead Directory
Mental Health Month
Mental Health Matters Awards
WayAhead Workplaces
Anxiety Support Groups
Small Steps
Perinatal Depression
and Anxiety Awareness
Stress Less Tips
WayAhead Website