Congratulations to DDCA Vice President Cat Hope who has been appointed to the advisory board of the Australian Alliance for Wellness in Entertainment (AAWE).
Program Manager Bianca Crosling explained a little more about AAWE and Professor Hope’s role:
“The Australian Alliance for Wellness in Entertainment is an advisory group which aims to collaborate, create and influence to improve wellness among workers across the industry. The alliance is not about reinventing the wheel, but exploring what organisations are doing differently or well; who can we learn from; and what we can achieve by sharing cross sector knowledge and working collaboratively. Our interests lie in discussing strategies to create change and to reduce the sector’s high incidence of suicide, anxiety, depression and substance abuse.”
Founding members include: Entertainment Assist; MEAA; Live Performance Australia; Screen Producers Australia; Australian Council for Deans & Directors in Creative Arts; Music Australia; Australian Society for Performing Arts Healthcare; Ausdance National; The Arts Wellbeing Collective; and Everymind.
New research is about to be released by Entertainment Assist in the coming weeks regarding entertainment industry workers’ views about mental health and wellbeing; their perceived confidence in seeking help and/or supporting a colleague and their perceptions about areas of concern and opportunities to improve support to workers. We will be seeking Professor Cat Hope’s contribution as a representative of DDCA will be to review and provide feedback and insights regarding areas to prioritise and action as an Alliance.
For more information see https://www.entertainmentassist.org.au/wellness