07/10/2025                                                                            
                                    
                                                                            
                                            On Saturday, the MHFA's 7th National Multicultural Mental Health Month Launch brought together dignitaries, supporters, and volunteers from over 40 nationalities to celebrate diversity and unity in mental health awareness. 
The event, held in Melbourne, centred around the inspiring theme “Lived Experience Leads the Way.” This message was powerfully echoed by our Chairperson Professor Melissa Green, The Hon. Mary Doyle MP (Federal Member for Aston), local Mayors and Councillors, and Lived Experience Speaker and MHFA Support Group Facilitator Dianne Simboro and Richard Lim OAM- Medical Advisory Member & Mental Health Advocate of the Year 2024 who all shared heartfelt reflections that reinforced this year’s theme. 
Highlights of the evening included the presentation of the Mental Health Awards and the Consumers Art Competition Awards, recognising exceptional contributions and creativity in promoting mental health and wellbeing. 
A special thanks to Mr Jianming Chen and his talented ANIBT team for sponsoring and preparing a delicious three-course multicultural cuisine enjoyed by all attendees.  
Australian Indian Charitable Trust for sponsoring the venue for this successful event. The MHFA also sincerely appreciates the generous support from: Tandoori Junction Caterers for the entrees, Indo Ceylon Spices for the sweets, OMED Fresh Market for the fresh vegetables, Stockman Wines, proudly sponsored by YPA Diamond Creek. Their contributions helped make the event a memorable success. 
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the ABBS families for their tireless volunteering from setup to clean up after a long and joyous night. 
The event was gracefully hosted by Aneka Srinivasan, MHFA Volunteer Supervisor and Senior Psychologist from Elysium Psychology. 
We thank Vasan Srinivasan, CEO for his leadership and dedication to make this event impactful, and all board members.  
Finally, we acknowledge the dedication of our small but mighty staff team — Aisha Usman, Amanda Cops, Nithya Viswanathan, Jotpreet Kaur, Vy Nguyen, along with our wonderful interns and volunteers whose commitment and teamwork made this celebration a true success.