Prize winners in mental health advocacyPrize winners in mental health advocacy
All In The Mind
Joint winners of the 2017 Australian Mental Health Prize—Allan Fels, who focusses on improving our mental health care system; and mental health advocate Janet Meagher.
30:22•10 Dec 2017
Prize-Winning Voices Changing Mental Health Care
Episode Overview
- People with severe mental illness often need independent housing combined with ongoing support, not just hospital or GP care.
- A broader "contributing life" approach recognises rights to accommodation, employment and psychosocial support beyond narrow medical treatment.
- Australia’s mental health system has strong primary and hospital care but a major gap in the middle of the stepped care model, especially around housing.
- Janet Ma stresses that no one should be harmed by their psychiatric care, and that emotional, physical and sexual abuse in institutions must end.
- Lived experience should guide both individual treatment and service design, with people learning their own symptom patterns and working closely with professionals.
“"The greatest thing any of us could do for another person is make them feel that they're still valued, that they will have a lot to contribute in the future."”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? This conversation from All In The Mind centres on two joint winners of the 2017 Australian Mental Health Prize, showing how lived experience and family care can reshape an entire system. You'll hear about Professor Allan Fells, former chair of the ACCC and The National Mental Health Commission, speaking as both an economist and a father.
Through his daughter Isabella’s schizophrenia, he saw "a real day-to-day living problem" for people trying to live independently. That personal reality helped spark the Haven Foundation in Victoria, providing long-term, affordable housing and support for people with persistent mental illness, grounded in the idea of a "contributing life" – a phrase coined by fellow prize winner Janet Ma. Janet’s story is raw and remarkable.
Living with schizophrenia for almost 50 years, including a decade in the now-closed Gladesville Mental Hospital, she recalls "horrendous abuse" but also moments of kindness that changed everything. A doctor told her she could "reinvent" herself, and a nurse’s trust – inviting her home for a festive meal when she was labelled a "dangerous patient" – became a turning point symbolised by a Disneyland poster and future visits to those parks.
Janet has since spent nearly four decades championing the rights of people with mental health issues. Her mantra is clear: "no one would ever be damaged by their care and treatment". She talks about learning self-monitoring strategies, understanding her own symptom patterns, and working with professionals over years to reduce major episodes.
She also argues that people with lived experience should be guiding doctors and helping redesign services, because "you know exactly what doesn’t work" when you’ve been inside the system. For anyone interested in recovery, housing, and respectful care, this episode offers frank stories and practical ideas. How might your view of mental health care change after hearing voices from both sides of the system?
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