Refugee youth leadership program encourages participants to drive change in their communities

Bendigo Community Health Services has hosted the region’s inaugural Refugee Youth Leadership Program.

The two-day event facilitated by the Centre for Multicultural Youth brought together 17 young potential leaders from the Karen, Afghan and South Sudanese communities.

Our cultural diversity and relationships manager Kaye Graves said the program was designed to build confidence and skills.

“The focus of the program was to ensure young people have every opportunity to have their voices heard, develop skills and lead change in their communities,” she said.

Kaye said the program helped the group build an understanding of leadership and how their actions and those of the teams and groups they form could create positive change.

“Understanding personal values that drive leadership styles and the importance of good decision making was a vital part of the program,” she said.

PrEP X trial in Bendigo helps ground-breaking HIV prevention get listed on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

A ground-breaking PrEPX trial hosted by Bendigo Community Health Services in conjunction with Alfred Health and Victorian AIDS Council will be extended by three months as the HIV prevention is added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The State Government will fund the trial extension until June 30 to ensure participants can continue to access PrEP until it's listed on the PBS.

The PrEPX study has helped more than 4000 Victorians including more than 20 from the Bendigo region to access this HIV prevention tool with participants now able to transition to accessing PrEP through their regular GP.

Eliminating new HIV transmissions by 2020 is one of the goals of the PrEPX trial.

Resources are currently being developed for doctors and nurses to help them easily provide PrEP to their patients from day one.

Hepatitis A and B, meningococcal, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines available free at Bendigo Community Health Services

Hepatitis A and B, meningococcal and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are available free at Bendigo Community Health Services.

The Victorian government has confirmed the availability of the free vaccines for men who have sex with men after the state's chief health officer issued alerts for outbreaks of hepatitis A and meningococcal. 

The Hepatitis A vaccine is also available free to Victorians who have injected drugs in the past year.

BCHS makes the vaccines available through our sexual health clinic or GPs based at Central and Eaglehawk.

Check your eligibility for the free vaccines: