The Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) revealed the winners of the 2024 WA Mental Health Awards at a special ceremony this November.
The annual awards recognise outstanding contributions to mental health in our state, with more than 100 nominations across nine categories this year alone.
Previous winners include Professor Ashleigh Lin for her outstanding work supporting LGBTQA+ and Indigenous youth, and the long-running youth support organisation Perth Inner City Youth Service. The team here at OUTinPerth were also proud to receive the News Media Award in 2020.
This year’s Minister’s Award was Brenda King, for her contributions to positive outcomes in the remote regions of Halls Creek and Warmun, through individual and group support, community education and engagement with Indigenous communities.
Blackwood Youth Association and Youth Focus Regional Manager for the Peel and South West, Mark Barrett-Lennard, shared the Mercycare Prevention or Promotion Award for their work providing services for at-risk young people and the ‘M8D8’ campaign tackling loneliness in young men, respectively.
Joanne Khan took out the Mental Health Commission Lived Experience Award for championing the perspective of First Nations people, particularly those with intersecting experiencing with homelessness and mental health, through her work in reference groups and advisory committees across the state.
The Roshana Care Group Diversity Award was also shared between two winners: Oluwafemi Victor Adeseolu, for founding Murdoch Life Assist – a pioneering suicide prevention network at Murdoch University, and Rise, Multicultural Services Centre of WA & Wungening Aboriginal Corporation for their collaboration Rivers – a community-based initiative offering a culturally safe space providing mental health and substance abuse support.
Other winners include , Anglicare WA, Kingston Primary School, ABC Great Southern, Ruah Community Services and Landon Aston Punch for his positive influence in the West Pilbara region.
Find out more about these deserving winners at waamh.org.au
