How to Thrive Over 55

                                                       How to Thrive Over 55

   Mental Health Month 2021

                                                    A Human Libraries Event

                                Hosted by Pearl Cove Library

                                    Thursday 21st October 2021 from 4.30-7.30 pm

                                                         at Pearl Cove Library.

         

Our Topic for this Event is "Suicide and Depression in Over 55's" This is a very real and important topic for the Pearl Cove community. Given that our current population has 25.6% that are 65 and over.

       Pearl Cove Library is hosting a Human Library Event that coincides with Mental Health Month 2021, What is a Human Library you ask? The Human Library was first established by a group of colleagues in Copenhagen in 2000. It is a real place where people are on loan to readers. Essentially meaning the ‘books’ are the people/topics, and the borrowers, are the listeners. Often having a conversation that the reader is leading, by asking questions, they’ve probably not had the opportunity to ask before. These sessions often will last 20 minutes per borrower.

https://www.humanlibraryaus.org/ 

           

            Have you found yourself in a sudden change? almost a redundancy of previous life? Have the kid's moved out? Have you reduced your hours of work or retired? 

             

            Are you perhaps feeling alone? sad or even frightened about this next stage of life.?  Then please join us on-

              

                              

         

           Our Books are-

           1.    Lorraine Age 57, - survivor of depression and suicide.

           2.    Bob Age 62, - widower and recent retiree.

           3.    Morgan – Phycologist. Amazing Ageing Psychology Clinic.   

           https://amazingageingpsychology.com.au/                

           4.    Lindy – Probus Pearl Cove Coordinator.   

           

For bookings please use https://www.eventbrite.com.au or alternatively you can call the Pearl Cove Library on 9672-4563

For any further information please contact- Sue Cook Library Technician at Pearl Cove Library Suecookpearlcovelibrary@gmail.com or please phone 9672-4563  

          

Please note this is an over 18 event.

                        

Pearl Cove Library presents: The Power of Community – a Human Living Library Event

     What is a Human Living Library?

The basic concept of Human Living Libraries is self-explanatory: the books can be any one person who is willing to tell their personal story or a faction of their own story in a one-on-one conversation, which normally goes on for no shorter than thirty minutes, as one can hardly have a meaningful conversation about anything in less time than that.

The first Human Living Libraries event was part of a project for Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen in 2000. Their goal was to challenge stereotypes and talk about subjects often considered taboo.

More information about this global initiative: Human Living Library website

Credit: Kate Lundy via flickr

    About the event

This event is featuring the following four human books of different minority backgrounds living in Australia, the theme of the event is combating isolation, unemployment, racism, cultural differences and general loneliness that comes with belonging to a minority group and the power of community raising up to lend a helping hand. This event is to bring culturally diverse people together to start a conversation and make a change, as it has been proven in the past that when the sons and daughters of many cultures work together is when the real magic happens.

More information about this global observance: United Nations website

.

    About the books

One of the books is a first generation Chinese migrant who has built a restaurant franchise in the region,
Our second book is an Indigenous Australian musician who busks for a living and teaches music to children in his community (and is married to a first generation European migrant, thus knows each side of being part of a minority extremely well),
Our third book is Iranian, whose family fled Iran in the early 2000s, she is completing her doctorate through a scholarship, rising to success from poverty and hardship,
Our fourth living book is from the UK, is a university professor in his 50s and has the knowledge of what it is like to migrate to Australia from an English speaking country.

The event takes place on Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development Day.

When:                               21st May 2022
What time:                       9:00am to 6:00pm
Where:                              Pearl Cove Library, Pearl Room

Tickets:                             $10/person
Bookings essential at:      Eventbrite or at the Library

Conditions of entry:        This event is CovidSafe.
                                           Facemasks and Vaccination Certificates are a must.

Refreshments:                  There will be water, coffee, tea, biscuits and cultural finger food available at                                                           the event (this is included in the price).

Age bracket:                     14 and over welcome!

Zsófia Boltos-Varga, 807088149

Mental Health Matters Event

                                                                                                             

MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS 

Photo retrieved from: https://www.sydneytimes.net.au/councils-focus-on-mental-health-during-covid-19-outbreak/ 

This October is Mental Health Month. In order to increase awareness and spread important knowledge Pearl Cove Library is holding a Human Living Library. Mental Health is an increasingly frequent issue experienced by many Australian teenagers. According to Beyond Blue “Half of all mental health conditions we experience at some point in our lives have started by age 14”. 

Human Living Library:

A Human Living Library is an event where instead of borrowing book you borrow people! At this event the book are people. You will be having discussions with the books in order to gain a better understanding of mental health. The purpose of these events is to challenge the preconceived ideas you have surrounding mental illnesses and those who suffer from them. 

Details:

Date: Friday the 29th of October 2021 

Time: 5:30-7:30pm 

Location: Peal Cove Library (The Pearl Room)

Booking:

Tickets cost $1o per person. 

If you are interested please book online here

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us. 

Email: pearcovelibraryenquiries@gmail.com or

Phone: 02 5633 4049

Links:

Beyond Blue statistics: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/media/statistics 

Human Living Library: https://humanlibrary.org/

 

Olivia McCarthy 

For Better or Worse - Raising awareness for Domestic Violence

Pearl Cove Library would like to invite you to a special Human Library Event:

For Better or Worse

Unmute yourself if you see disrespect as we all have the power to end domestic violence.  Domestic violence against women starts with disrespect, so lets stop it at the start, by talking and starting up a conversation.  This month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and you are invited to attend an upcoming event called For better or for worse that aims to bring awareness to domestic violence in Australia by speaking to people who have lived it and experienced it with four guest speakers in this special Human Living Library event.

What is a Human Library you ask?

The Human Living Libraries is a program where life stories and experiences are shared by real people known as the books. Readers can ask questions, listen to their stories and have a conversation with the book. It is a great way to challenge stereotypes and gives the reader a new way to see the world through the unique story telling of the book. The human living library is a concept that started in 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark.  More info can be found at 

https://humanlibrary.org

Our books

Dixie Link-Gordon.  An advocate against domestic violence and sexual assualt.

NSW Police Force Commissioner Michael Fuller APM.  He is an appointed Corporate Spokesperson for Family and Domestic Violence.

Rebecca Poulson.  Author, speaker and Domestic Violence Survivor Advocate.

Bea Smith.  Womens Safety NSW

Marijana Skoflic. Library patron and domestic violence survivor

Simone O'Brien. Domestic violence survivor and speaker

Event Details

Date:    Thursday October 21st, 2021

Time:    11.30am-2.30pm

Venue:    Pearl Cove Library in the Pearl Room

Cost:    $10

Age:    strictly 16 years and up

Light refreshments will be provided

Booking

Spots are limited, so reserve your spot today by booking online  through Eventbrite

For further assistance and enquiries, contact the library via email at info@pearlcovelibrary.com.au

or by phone on (02)9570 6928

For more information on domestic violence, visit 

https://www.dvnsw.org.au/

Marijana Skoflic

Autism: Unwritten

 

Photo credit: PlusLexia.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a condition that affects 1 in 150 people in Australia. Despite this, many people have a limited understanding of how real people with ASD live their day-to-day lives. To celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, Pearl Cove Library is holding a Human Living Library event.

What is a Human Living Library?

A Human Living Library is an event where people volunteer as Books to have conversations about their experiences, to help other people understand their perspective. They aim to help clear misunderstandings around topics that many people find too sensitive to bring up. The event is a safe space for both Readers and Books, so bring your questions and leave your judgement and preconceptions behind!

Event Details

When: Saturday April 2, 10am - 1pm

Where: The Pearl Room, Pearl Cove Library

Admission: $5

Light refreshments will be provided

Booking

Click here to book a spot at this event. Be quick as there are limited spaces! If you have any issues with booking, please contact our team by email at library@pearlcove.nsw.gov.au

Further Information

If you would like to read more about this subject, you can follow the links below.

https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/

https://aass.org.au/

Caitlin Nash

International Women's Day at Pearl Cove Library

 

Getty Images 

This women's day, Pearl Cove library is proud to host an afternoon of conversations with women, who are strong advocates for their communities. 

Our Human Library event will provide an opportunity for one-on-one conversations with amongst others members of the LGBTQI+ and First Nations communities and social justice campaigners. Our five 'living book's will speak to their experiences of the intersection of womanhood, cultural identities, advocacy and social progress of reform. 

Join us this afternoon for a special opportunity to discuss how we can all address social issues impacting both women and all of our communities. 

One conversation lession lasts 20 min, multiple sessions available. 

Wheelchair accesible. All ages, everyone welcome. 

Limited seats, book today to secure your spot! 

 

When: March 8 2021, 3-7 PM

Where: Pearl Cove Library 

Cost: Free, bookings essential. 

How: Book online at events@pearlcovelibrary.com.au 

 

For more information please contact the library:               

(02) 7685 4361

Events@Pearlcovelibrary.com.au

For further reading on Human Libraries, visit Human Library Australia. 

Nina Vinther

EYE THE BOOK

 

A Human Living Library Event @ Pearl Cove Library

In recognition of World Sight Day, Pearl Cove Library is proud to be hosting its first Human Library event celebrating the visually impaired!

What is a Human Living Library?

A Human Living Library provides a “library of people” for individuals to openly discuss and challenge stereotypes, stigma and discrimination. 

Participants in our Eye The Book event will “borrow” and connect on an intimate level with a visually impaired “human book” for 30-minute time periods to explore and consider issues that restrict and impede their full participation and access to facilities within their local communities.

                                                   

For more information about Human Living Libraries, you can visit the official Human Library Organization’s website.

Or the Human Library Australia website here.

MEET OUR HUMAN BOOKS!

Emeritus Professor David Walker – a visually impaired Australian historian and professor of Australian Studies at Deakin University

Christina Le – a Vietnamese-Australian Pearl Cove resident and mother of 3 with strabismus (a condition that causes an imbalance between the positioning of both eyes)

Jackson Lewis – a 20-year-old Pearl Cove resident of Aboriginal background with open-angle glaucoma (an eye condition that causes gradual vision loss)

Katie Kelly – Australian paratriathlete and founder of the Sport Access Foundation with Usher syndrome (a condition that affects both hearing and vision)

Maggie Stevenson – an elderly Pearl Cove resident with macular degeneration (an eye condition affecting the elderly)

DETAILS

Date: Thursday, 14^th October 2021

Time: 3:30-6:30PM

Venue: Pearl Cove Library Courtyard (wheelchair accessible)

Light refreshments will be provided to all participants.

Bookings are essential as places are limited!

Please note that this event is strictly for adults aged 18 and over.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Pearl Cove Library

6 Ocean View Road

Pearl Cove NSW 2246

(02) 9772 3498

library@pearlcove.com

Don’t forget to keep up with us on our socials!

Image credits (in order of appearance):

Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash 

Photo by geralt on Pixabay 

Photo of David Walker (historian) on Wikipedia

Photo of Christine Ha on CNN Health

Photo by Lisa Tomasetti of Hunter Page-Lochard on IMDb

Photo of Katie Kelly on World Triathlon 

Photo by Clynt Garnham Medical on Alamy

Instagram Logo from Stick PNG

Facebook Icon from Bohlevale State School website

Twitter Logo from Stick PNG

Olivia Moreira

Pearl Cove, it's time to have the talk

 Sorrow Unmasked: A human library of loss, resilience and connection

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”

- Khalil Gibran

Photo by Cherry Laithang

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location: Pearl Cove Library

Date: Saturday October 16^th, 2021

Time: 10am – 1pm (book a 20 minute appointment within this time period)

Tickets: $10, advanced bookings are necessary to secure a place. Book a ticket through Eventbrite here. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How often do you talk about the big stuff?

Come and join in Pearl Cove's human library this October 16th, where you can ‘borrow’ a human book for 20 minutes to learn more about loss, grief and resilience.

Maybe you lost a loved one, or you lost your job, or maybe your favourite gelato place closed and you’ve been feeling blue ever since. In this digital age, it’s easier than ever to distract yourself from examining life’s difficult moments, but are we losing out by keeping ourselves distanced from the universal experience of loss? Come and connect with our human books who can offer real insight into the experience of loss and how they grew around it.

Meet our books:

Maryanne Larkin: Co-founder of RUOK

Maryanne Larkin's husband Gavin was the founder of the RUOK suicide prevention charity. Having lost both her husband and son to cancer since, Maryanne has stated that acceptance has played a large role in her family coping with the unthinkable. Maryanne can share her experience in reaching a place of acceptance through grief. 

Jonathan Jones: Artist

Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones has a deep understanding of cultural loss and its lasting impacts. In 2016, Jones turned Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden into a memorial to loss, drawing attention to the unseen stories of indigenous Australian’s. Jonathan can share his thoughts and meditations on inter-generational sorrow and cultural resilience in Australia. (Read more about his work 'Barrangal Dyara' here.)

Sam Dastyari: Former senator

Former politician and author of ‘One Halal of a Story’ Sam Dastyari has experienced a public fall from grace but lives to tell the tale. Readers of this book should note that Sam will not be talking politics at this event but will instead be sharing his experience in grappling with the personal fallout of bad decisions and public ire. 

Melissa Tan: Amputee

Melissa Tan lost her leg in a road accident and continues to manage the resulting chronic pain today. As a former dance teacher, Melissa is now a florist in Pearl Cove. She would love to share her journey of joy and sorrow on her long road to mental and physical recovery. 

Ahmed Sorour: Refugee

As a lawyer in Beirut in 1986, Ahmed left Lebanon to come to Australia because of the Lebanese civil war. Now a Pearl Cove resident and passionate bush regenerator, Ahmed would like to share his experience in overcoming his grief for the life he left in Lebanon, and how he learned to love Australia.

Siobhan Morrell