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A quarterly publication providing the latest information to help support consumers and
carers of South West Healthcare Mental Health Services.
T H I S E D I T I O N ’ S H I G H L I G H T S :
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p.5
p.8
p.4 Law and You
Health and Lifestyle
Consumer Artwork
FaPMI
p.7
p.14 Classifieds
Consumer Story
ECIU Sensory Garden and Mosaic
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specialREPORT
People with a mental illness experience exceptionally high levels of unemployment, which some estimate to be as high as 85%. Some of the barriers some people have experienced with regard to employment included; little or no work history, broken work history, anxiety and stigma. Many people experience mental illness and most people recover. Voluntary work can be an important step in the recovery process and people may choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. Volunteering allows people to feel a sense of purpose or achievement, to gain new skills and experience, to socialise and be part of a community, or to demonstrate their capabilities to others. People with experience of mental illness may gain even greater benefits from volunteering. While they may choose to volunteer so that they can access any of these benefits listed above, each of the benefits of volunteering will also help support their mental health and recovery.
Volunteering is good for you and your recovery
Studies have shown that volunteering helps
people who donate their time feel more
socially connected, thus warding off
loneliness and depression. But I was
surprised to learn that volunteering has
positive implications that go beyond mental
health. A growing body of evidence
suggests that people who give their time to
others might also be rewarded with better
physical health—including lower blood
pressure and a longer lifespan.
Some reasons people decide to volunteer include: • wanting to help people; •to improve conditions in society/
environment; • to meet people; • to pass the time; • for enjoyment/ fun; • to keep active; • to increase skills; and • to improve chances of getting paid employment. There are many organisations around the South West who offer volunteer opportunities in various occupations. Please refer to the useful resources section or page 12 for links to get started on your volunteering career.
By Leanne Mitchell
Quality Co-ordinator
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Law&YOU
Are the caring roles and responsibilities of older children and teens identified and alleviated?
Are opportunities provided for children to ask clinicians questions about their parent’s mental illness and receive information and be listened to?
Volunteering can benefit communities, provide individuals with purpose and satisfaction and can serve as a stepping stone to paid employment. Volunteers have rights and responsibilities, and the organisation hiring the volunteers has obligations to provide safe conditions.
Volunteers have a right to be provided with:
A copy of the Aims and Objectives of the agency.
Information on policies and procedures of the agency.
Orientation, training and education. Recognition as a co-worker and team
member. A suitable assignment. A duty statement and job description. Information about communication
lines within the agency. Adequate counselling and grievance
procedures. Proper insurance cover. Appropriate occupational health and
safety protection. Appropriate work area and
equipment. Access to relevant decision making
processes within the agency. Appropriate forms of recognition for
work done and contributions made
Volunteers have a responsibility to:
Make an informed decision to work as a volunteer with an agency.
Undertake work orientation and training as required.
Work within the duty statement on tasks suitable to their skills and experience.
Behave in an ethical manner. Keep agency and client matters
confidential. Be committed to the agency’s aims
and objectives. Inform the agency when unable to
undertake or complete a task. Use appropriate information
channels within an agency when needing information, support, back-up, supervision or review.
Be aware of the limits of their role within the agency.
Be aware of occupational health and safety policies and practices.
Act as a member of the team. Be aware of protocol when
representing the agency. Commit to achieving results and
make an effective contribution to the agency
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ST ATEWIDE C HILDREN’S RESOURCE PROGRAM
FaPMI
Families and volunteering
You might wonder where
parents would find the time to
volunteer and certainly most
mothers and fathers feel under
pressure coping with the daily
household tasks associated with
life centred on caring for
children. Parenting is a difficult
job for everyone! Managing
mental illness symptoms and
medications and grappling with
financial stress, housing issues
and discrimination as many
parents with mental illness do,
makes for extremely demanding
circumstances.
There is no doubt that
volunteering is an enriching
experience – a headspace tips
sheet suggests:
“Do something to help
someone else. Acts of
kindness help other
people but also make us
feel good. We are often
happiest when doing
something for others.”
Perhaps it is useful to think
about how parents, in arguably
the busiest times of their lives,
can take up offers of
volunteering from others who
may be in a position where they
have more time and energy on
their hands. These are some of
the ways that volunteering may
apply to parents:
Grandparents, aunts or uncles, trusted neighbours or other family members may be able to assist in taking care of children for a couple of hours to allow parents to have a break and chill out – go for a walk on the beach, have a quiet relaxing cuppa or just sit underneath a tree for a while. Taking care of ourselves is critical to us being able to take care of others.
Help out at your child’s kinder or school every now and then, or on a regular basis. Most schools will welcome an extra pair of hands to assist with a wide range of tasks…it could be that you spend an hour a week doing some gardening, helping in the library, assisting with administration tasks, with art and craft or listening to children read. There can be a range of activities you could get involved in that suit your interests, energy levels and mood. You may not feel ready to cope with large groups of students, however time in the school yard doing some gardening or maintenance may be just the thing. Your children will benefit enormously as research shows that children do better academically if they feel that their parents value their education. You can show this by visiting school or kinder to help out.
Volunteering might be something you do together with your children. There are opportunities to join environmental groups and plant trees together that you can watch grow as the years pass and feel a sense of pride in having created a beautiful natural environment.
Do you sometimes have other people’s children over to play? Have conversations with an elderly neighbour? Drive anyone around? Bake for stalls or sell raffle tickets at your child’s sporting club?
You may already be volunteering in an informal way that you haven’t recognised. Congratulate yourself! You are contributing towards creating a more inclusive and better resourced community. These are some opportunities you could take up if you are not already. Volunteering helps us to feel more connected, and to give meaning and purpose to our days. And these are two core elements of recovery.
Rochelle Hine
FaPMI Coordinator
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Health&Lifestyle
The benefits of volunteering are enormous to you, your family, and your community. The right match can help you find friends, reach out to the community, learn new skills, and even advance your career. Volunteering can also help protect your mental and physical health.
Volunteering provides many benefits to both mental and physical health.
Volunteering increases self-confidence. Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. You are doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment. Your role as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity. And the better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.
Volunteering combats depression. Reducing the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key risk factor for depression is social isolation.
Volunteering helps you stay physically healthy. Volunteering is good for your health at any age, but it’s especially beneficial in older adults. Studies have found that those who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not, even when considering factors like the health of the participants. Volunteering has also been shown to lessen symptoms of chronic pain or heart disease.
From: http://www.helpguide.org/life/volunteer_opportunities_benefits_volunteering.htm
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Eddie and
the
theatre
company
Herbs in full bloom.
From the desk of CARER CONSULTANT
Volunteering, you are probably saying to yourself, “I’m way too busy to volunteer, with everything I do during my day as well as caring and supporting my loved one, where would I find the time and/or energy”. Sometimes we get so bogged down in life, all we need is to take time out for ourselves and volunteering can give us that escape from everyday routine. Evidence tells us, that the benefits to volunteering are enormous not only to yourself both mentally and physically, but to your family, friends and the community. With the right volunteering opportunities you may make new friends (expanding your social circle), help your local community, learn new skills and could even lead to a new career. Other benefits of volunteering include:
a means of building self-esteem or self-confidence
a great way to learn or develop skills
to enhance work experience
gain improved health and be active
a way to meet new people or broaden you social set
make a difference in someone’s life
a way of expressing gratitude for help you may have received in the past or ‘giving back’
an opportunity to support a cause you feel strongly about
feeling needed and valued is satisfying in itself
make a difference within one’s own community
Volunteering provided me with a sense of pride, accomplishment and reduced my risk of social isolation. It kept me in regular contact with others and helped me to develop a solid support group. I found volunteering to be meaningful, interesting, fun and at times challenging. It gave me the opportunity to be able to ‘turn off’ (if only for a short time) from my daily routine. I didn’t think I could find the time or energy but I did and the benefits I got out of it are still with me today.
For some, volunteering can make you feel better about yourself, which in turn, you are more likely to have a positive view on your life and future goals. So why not give it a go?
Cheers Alison
Why Not Volunteer?
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From the desk of CONSUMER CONSULTANT
I started volunteering at an adult learning centre
for half an hour two afternoons a week. That
first day I wanted to run as fast as I could in the
opposite direction, I was drenched with sweat
and so anxious I thought I would vomit.
It wasn't a fun experience but I managed to
smile, meet a couple of people and learn a
little about the filing system. I was
exhausted afterwards and none of it had
come easily but I had done it and thought I
could probably do it again.
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Consumer Artwork
By Belinda 09.07.14
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Stepping Stones
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What are we doing ?
Together with Men’s Shed and Southwest Healthcare we are putting togther a wood working group,
making anything from simply holuse hold items to toys for the maternity ward (or any other ward that
request them) to entertain kids stuck around the hospital for to long.
Mens Shed have provided us a wide range of tools and materials, there is also the ability to do up an
old bikefor yourself. This is for everyone. Not just the boys!
Where is it at?
The Wooden workshop will be every Wednesday from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. This will all be happening at
Mens Shed on the grounds of the Warrnambool Community College.
71 Hyland Street Warrnambool Victoria 3280
Does it Cost?
Membership top this group costs $25.00 for theentire year. This covers use of the Mens Shed plus
tools, insurance and materials. If you are entering half way through the year it cost $10.00 for the rest
of year.
For More Information Please Contact 5561 9100
Zac Newman
Or
Maya Raschel
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M
Warrnambool Men’s
Group Interested?
Well here’s your chance to make it happen
Who?
Any man who wants to explore new opportunities and have some fun
When?
Tuesday September 16 at 4pm
Where?
15 Hider Street (The Little Red House)
Why?
Because we Can!
The Plan:
To create a safe sharing environment where men of all ages can come together to share
stories, hobbies, experiences or whatever you think is needed
Often it’s hard for men to get the opportunity to stop and talk to other men in similar
situations.
Sometimes we forget that we’re not alone.
If you would like to be part of this new opportunity and help develop new group, come
along and share your thoughts and ideas come along and help make this your group.
ealth Act 2014uide
For more information
contact;
Darren Dorey on 55619100
or
Barry Clarke on 55603000
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usefulRESOURCES
Websites you might find useful include:
South West Healthcare : http://www.swarh2.com.au/swh/content/volunteers
Victoria Volunteering Portal “ I Can Do That’ : http://www.volunteer.vic.gov.au/
Warrnambool City Council : http://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/volunteering
Seekvolunteer:
http://volunteer.com.au/Opportunity/State/Warrnambool,%20VIC
Volunteer Weekly.org : http://www.volunteerweekly.org/
Go Volunteer : http://govolunteer.com.au/about-volunteering/
Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria :
http://www.mifellowship.org/content/volunteer
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wordFIND
EMPOWERMENT CONFIDENCE
CONNECTION WORK
MEANING PURPOSE
VOLUNTEER SKILLS
HELPING VALUES
Che
ers
l
Volunteering
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clasSIFIEDS
Let’s Rock!!
Rock N Roll
Come and try evening
All Left Feet Welcome
When: 24th October
Where: Guide Hall, Manifold St W’Bool
Time: 7:30 - 8:30pm
Cost: $5.00
More Info? Contact Yvette at South West Healthcare
Mental Health Services on: 5561 9100
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Mental Health Act the Musical – Thursday 27th November 3.30pm Seminar Room ICC Building
For more details please contact Janet on 55619100
Let’s Get Moving
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Exercise group focused on
improving your physical health
and having fun at the same
This is our final “Brainstorm” for 2014 so we would like to
take the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy
festive season, and look forward to catching up with you
again in 2015!
