Access Arts Inc. defines a Member as any person who has filled out a membership form to join the organisation.

Staff are defined as persons engaged in Office, workshop/project or program, Volunteer or Student placement work at Access Arts Inc.

Definition:

Mental health is how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life's situations. Mental health affects how people look at themselves, their lives, and the other people in their lives; evaluate their challenges and problems; and explore choices. This includes handling stress, relating to other people, and making decisions.

Purpose:

To ensure that Members and Staff who experience a mental illness have the opportunity to receive services from and contribute to Access Arts and the broader community in a supportive, safe environment which assists them to maintain their mental health and reach their creative potential.

Policy:

• Members and Staff have the opportunity to disclose that they experience a mental illness to an Access Arts Staff member at any time. Any disclosure will remain confidential.

• Disclosure of a mental illness is encouraged so that Access Arts can provide appropriate support and services, and will not jeopardise the person’s employment or involvement with Access Arts Inc.

• Staff will receive mental health training as part of their induction.

• Staff will work with the person experiencing a mental illness to ensure that the environment is conducive to maintaining their health and that program flexibility is maintained to ensure that their needs are met.

Mental Health Procedure

• A person can disclose their mental illness to an Access Arts Staff member face-to-face, via an enrolment form or on a workplace agreement.

• They will then be given the opportunity to complete a Mental Health Action Plan (MAP) with assistance from Access Arts Staff, their support person or advocate if required. The MAP will provide details about the process Access Arts should follow in the event that the person becomes ill. The MAP will also include contact details of the person’s emergency contact people including professionals and family members.

• The MAP will be marked “confidential”, stored separately in a secure filing cabinet and will only be accessible to authorised Access Arts Staff members.

• If a person chooses not to disclose their illness and Staff believe that the person may be unwell, they will discuss this with the person to assess the situation and decide on an immediate action plan.

• Upon consultation with the person, the Senior Staff Member will follow any action that they deem necessary in order to ensure the safety of the person and community members. This may entail making contact with the person’s doctor, family member or other support person.

• In cases where the person does not acknowledge that they are unwell, Staff will first attempt to contact their emergency person(s), or failing this, contact the person’s local mental health service.

• In cases where Staff assess that the person is a danger to themselves or the community they should call the police immediately and follow the Critical Incident Procedure.