Resilience Summit Speakers, Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich MP, Carolyn Dewaigeneire, Kath Mazzella, Hayley Solich and Sue Crawford

How do you measure the success of an event?

At Women Can International Inc we measure it by the number of people who attend who engage with the program and leave the building changed or empowered in some way.  It is not numbers but the message and the response to that message that is most important.

The Resilience Summit, which was held at the Dayspring Community Centre in Dianella, was opened by the Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich MP, Member for East Metropolitan Region, and Shadow Minister for Commerce and Small Business; Training and Mental Health. Ljiljanna shared about what resilience means to her and gave her own personal story of rebounding after the media crucified her when she was in office as the Minister for Education. She also shared her own strategies that she employed that helped her to cope with the incredible pressure that public life brings to bear.

Then Hayley Solich shared her story about overcoming the tragedies of being homeless at 17, feeling abandoned by both parents when her father kicked her out of the house, then losing her mother and two grandmothers in the same year as she rolled her car on a freeway. She shared how courage is not the absence of fear but the knowledge that there is something greater than that which we fear and how resilience is not the absence of hardships and trials, but rather the knowledge that there is something far greater that is at work in our lives and will be wrought through our difficulties.

Sue Crawford was the next speaker and shared her journey of coming to terms with the loss of her beautiful, intelligent 22-year-old daughter who was on the cusp of her career and life when she was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. She shared how our lives are changed when we lose a child, how it is not the normal order of life, and one of the hardest losses to come to terms with.

Then Kath Mazzella shared her story and how she has been able to turn her situation around to create change in the way we think about gynaecology. How she is influencing people around the globe and about International Gynae Awaereness Day and how it is being taken up by both medical professionals and the community.

Finally Carolyn Dewaigeneire shared her moving story of the hardships that life has thrown at her, with the loss of her precious husband and the love of her life to cancer and then the devastation of having her genitalia unnecessarily and without permission removed by a derranged doctor. Carolyn shared how she is fighting for justice and urged those in attendance to support her in getting 10,000 signatures together so that she can appeal to the government to ensure that judges are unable to overrule the findings of a jury.

Overall, the feedback from the evening has been VERY positive and certainly, this is the first Resilience Summit, with many more to come!

We’d love to hear your feedback about the event and if you would like to be involved in future Resilience Summits please contact us via our Contact Us page.

Here is what some of those who attended had to say…

“The venue was was excellent, food was fresh and very acceptable. Speakers were excellent and I didn’t mind that it ran overtime as it was very worthwhile.  I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and would love to attend anything else similar.” – Susan, Counsellor.

“The whole night was a real eye-opener for me, it’s the difference between reading something in a magazine, and seeing and hearing it in the flesh.” – Rhionagh, Journalist.

Nola is pictured in the middle with the beige knit top and orange cardigan over her shoulders.

Nola Needs Our Help

I’m not sure if many of you will remember Nola Turner as she was one of the founding members of Women Can International Inc, but Nola was our photographer at our events and a committee member for the first year of Women Can’s incorporation.

Nola, a woman with high morals in her late 60′s, fell prey to a 45 year old womanising photographer who she had employed to teach her how to use her computer and had an emotional breakdown that resulted in the desire for her to end her life.  The authorities stepped in and she was committed to Graylands Selby-Lemnos and Special Care Health Service.

I didn’t hear again from Nola for nearly two years and had no idea what had happened to her.  During that time she was treated by Psychiatrists for what they diagnosed as a Bipolar condition.

To understand Nola’s history, we are talking about a woman who has lived a Christian life in word and deed, been a nurse for over 40 years and who when I met her I would have placed her in her 50′s not late 60′s because of her energy and vivacious personality.  This is a woman who has raised three children and survived a breakdown in her marriage and subsequent divorce. A woman who has contributed tirelessly to the community through her involvement in charity work and helping the less fortunate.

So I was shocked when I learned of her demise and the subsequent events and even more shocked when she phoned me this week for my help.   I was more incredulous at the finding and subsequent treatment for a bipolar condition that previously not beend diagnosed despite 40 years of working in the medical system.

Nola phoned to ask me if I would support her to help to free her from the Mental Health system.  It seems that in the time that she was committed to Graylands that they used shock treatments and psychotic drugs to manage her depression.  And now that she has been released back into the community and has lived independently since March, they are continuing to force the shock treatments on Nola and she finds that with each treatment she is losing a little bit more of her memory and capacity to function.

Nola has tried everything she knows how to free herself but currently she has no rights.  Her son has power of attorney and is highly influenced by the advice he is getting from Graylands.  Nola is not permitted to leave Perth.  She can’t go interstate, overseas or even out of Perth.  She is not permitted to drive a car so has to bike or walk everywhere and if she refuses Shock Treatment, the police can just come and cart her off and they will use drugs to control her behaviour.

I am not a pyschiatrist.  I do not know what threat Nola poses to herself.  But what I do know is that if that were me and I felt I was capable of managing without the treatment I would want someone to stand up for me.

How can we help Nola Turner?

Nola needs an independent Pyschiatric review as quickly as possible.  They plan the next round of shock treatments on Friday, 7th October, 2011.  She has phoned every private psychiatrist that she can find and most you have to wait up to 4 months to get in to see.  Public pyschiatrists are a MUCH LONGER waiting period.  Plus the  cost is over $300 for an initial consultation and $250 PER PAGE for a report to be written up.

Nola has been following due process…contacting the Minister, the Consumer’s Health Council, the Mental Health Council, and everybody else that she can think of to try and get help but has made no progress.

Nola also told me that she picked up a bowel condition whilst she was in Graylands and that they were charging her over $100 per script for the medications for that treatment.  You can understand how shocked Nola was when she went to her local pharmacy to fill the script and learned that she can buy the same medications over the counter for less than $20.  There is something very wrong here.

Ladies, I need your support and help.  I would like for Nola to have the opportunity to clear her mental health name through independent review, so that if she is being held without due cause and treated for condition that is a misdiagnosis, she can be freed from what is a life altering treatment process.  Nola would love to be able to drive her car again and have the liberty to travel.  She had just visited Israel when I met her and I know she would love to be able to travel again.  But Nola’s greatest concern is that she will lose all her memory and her capacity to function independently which is very important to her.

Having met Nola post treatment I can tell you that she has already lost an obvioius amount of her memory functioning.  She struggled at first to place me in her world and to remember my name even though we worked side by side on a committee and had been close friends less than three years ago.  She also told me that changing the printer cartridge, a task that she has performed countless times, has now become very arduous.

We have to help Nola get a fair hearing.

Please support me with this by…

1.  Thinking about anyone you know in Government who we could approach to take up Nola’s cause.  She’s already been to the WA Minister for Mental Health with no outcome and her local MP.

2.  Thinking about and finding a psychiatrist who will give an independent review of her case.  She can only be freed from the system if a psychiatrist will vouch for her stable mental health.

3.  If we need to take visual, public action, considering spending a day with me standing or sitting on the steps of parliament house.  I am willing to put myself out there so that she can get a fair hearing.

I would appreciate your support in this matter and am open to any suggestions you may have.  My intention is to help Nola to get the support that she needs.

Letter to the Editor in Support of Cr Elizabeth Re

I have gone public in support of Cr Elizabeth Re who has been found guilty of a breach of conduct for sharing public records and challenging people that if they felt the decision was unfair to voice their opinions.

The end result of her conviction means that she was forced to publicly apologise to two Councillors at City of Stirling who voted to approve a redevelopment project that effectively put out of business a family owned garage (Martinos) that had been operating in the area for 54 years, as the redevelopment plan included a garage that offered the same service and would be opening two doors down.

I thought we had councils to protect our small businesses against these types of unfair situations. Had the redevelopment plan not included a garage, it would have been welcomed as it would not have been a conflict of interest.

In speaking out about the decision and the negative impact it was having on the family-run business – effectively in standing up for those who had not power to stand up for themselves – Liz brought into her life a court case that has taken her to the cleaners and I just think it is VERY unfair that the Council can use rate payers funds to persecute her for standing up and speaking out.

I felt very strongly that this needed to be challenged and this was the only way I knew how to show our support to a woman who has served this community and the broader community with all of her heart, soul and passion. Liz is someone with the highest integrity and is fighting to exist in a very corrupt environment. We need to lend her our support.

Hayley Solich
Chairperson

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Sue Papadoulis is going to be our Guest Speaker on the next Social Media Mentoring Club call. Are you interested?

Sue is going to speaking to the topic, “How to use Social Media for Business Profit”.

For those that don’t know, Sue Papadoulis is a highly experienced journalist who also ran her own successful PR Company and is now teaching business owners the secrets to getting media coverage without having to pay top dollar.

Sue’s strategies are tried and proven. Her business, Home Biz Chicks, has expanded recently, with Sue beginning her International Speaking circuit this year.

We are VERY privileged to have Sue join us and share her secrets with us, as she is a very busy business woman and mother of two, so let’s take full advantage of the opportunity.

Sue does not profess to be a Social Media specialist, but will be sharing her own personal business strategies.

For more information about Sue, click here.

Event date:

Friday, 17 June 2011

12:00 noon (GMT+8)

Via Skype

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT by going to eventbrite.com and registering. Only those that register will be allowed on the call. If we have a lot of registrations, we will be moving the call to a telesminar site, so you will need to be registered so we can let you know of the changes.

This event is free for all financial members of Women Can International Inc. Guests are permitted to be involved in one event per year for free.

To register click here.

Hayley Solich shares a compelling message inviting all men and women to get involved in the International GYNae Awareness Day initiative. More information about the initiative can be found on the GynaeDay.com website. Below is a flier that shares some of the information.

This is an extraodinary video on the power of belief. Really, a life changing message.

Sue and Andrew Crawford

We are pleased to announce that Vice Chairperson, Sue Crawford, is going to be contributing her knowledge as a Pharmacist to Women Can International through a series of posts on health related topics.

A special thanks to Sue, who is currently the Manager of the 24 Hour Pharmacy in Mt Lawley, Western Australia, with over 30 years of experience in the industry.

So keep your eyes out for some great posts coming up!

Sue and Andrew Crawford

Sue Crawford is a Pharmacist and the Manager of the 24 Hour Chemist in Mt Lawley, WA. Sue has been elected as our Vice Chairperson.  Sue shared the following information about her day job:

Beaufort St 24 Hour Chemist is situated in the heart of the trendy Mount Lawley café strip and has provided 24 hour pharmacy service continuously since 1998. With the convenience of parking right at the back door you’ll always be able to talk to one of our professional pharmacists at any hour of any day or night.

We are a team dedicated to maintaining customer satisfaction, trust and professionalism by providing excellent service and advice to all clients at all times of the day.

24 Hour Chemist’s vision is to make a meaningful contribution to the health of each patient and to make our community a happier and healthier place.

Browse our website for details of our 24 hour pharmacy services, our products and services, information about sleep apnoea and take our sleep test.

http://www.24hourchemist.com.au/

You can phone Sue at the Pharmacy…..93287775.

Sue joined them some 8 years ago, first as a night time pharmacist doing the midnight shifts, then 18 months ago as the Pharmacy Manager.

Employing 30 plus full-time and casual staff and never closing, Sue’s a very busy and very organised pharmacist!

Sue is also the mother of seven children: Jessica, Matthew, Joshua, Nathan, Olivia, Alexander and Isabella. Yes, I find it hard to believe that she fits in having all those gorgeous children in her world and working full-time but somehow she manages (probably with a lot of help from husband, Andrew!).

Sue is also very interested in natural health, and has always believed in the principle that the best solution is often a combination of Natural/Herbal plus Pharmaceutical when required.

Passionate about helping people, making a difference, and community–especially young people who face so many more challenges today, Sue is actively involved in community groups and is a new member of Women Can International Inc.

Sue has put her hand up to come on our committee.  Please make Sue welcome to the Women Can International Inc family!

I encourage you to sort out your membership fees and application before the 15th January so you can be eligible to vote at the meeting and to be able to come on the committee.  We have a constitutional limitation of only six members on our committee, however, we will have sub-committees running for the various events we’re hosting in 2011 if you miss out on the committee but want to get involved.

We will also be launching our online Social Media Mentoring Club on 19 January at 10:00am.  If you are interested in getting involved, you need to let Hayley know.  This club is only available to members of the association and promises to be a fast track for people wanting to learn more about getting themselves or their businesses online.  We already have Mary-Lou Halvorson from Zigma-Video.com and PR Specialist, Sue Papadoulis lined up to run some of our sessions, plus I will be running a few of the sessions focused around the topics of creating Your Brand (personal or business) and How to Network Effectively.   This program will be run using a combination of Skype and Facebook platforms, plus the occasional webinar.

Super looking forward to seeing everyone at the event on 15 January, 2011.  To register for the event, please go here.