Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Developing local community involvement in mental health

At the Bowral Community Mental Health Service they have been committed to tapping into the vast resource of the people of the Wingecarribee in order to develop skills and resilience as a means of countering the impact and distress of mental illness in the community. In 2000 the previous manager of the Bowral Mental Health Service was fortunate to be able to see in action the wonderful work of his colleagues in the regional areas of Western Australia. While visiting Geraldton he attended a Men's Health Forum at which he saw the efficacy of the "Men's Health Rego Checks" and the "Yellow Ribbon for Life" - the suicide prevention program. On his return to the Wingecarribee he proposed the use of the Men's Health Rego Checks as a means of encouraging males to engage in the medical services provided by the local health services and the network of general practitioners. Fortunately the region had already a core group of interested community members and health practitioners who were also concerned about the slow uptake by men in accessing the health services needed to monitor and maintain good health. These local people were able to establish an incorporated association, the Wingecarribee Health Association for Men (WHAM Inc). They were able to see the benefit of utilising the Rego Checks as a fun way of getting a serious message across to men. They were also indeed fortunate to have a service group like Rotary see the value of supporting such a worthwhile health promotion program.Since the concept was developed, WHAM and the Bowral Mental Health Service have conducted Rego Checks for the community, at special event (such as Australia Day at Berrima and Tulip Time in Mittagong), as well as for organisations and businesses with a predominately male workforce.The second program that the Bowral Mental Health Service was able to introduce to the local community was the concept of the Yellow Ribbon program. Having again brought together a small group of interested community members the service was able to assist in the formation of an incorporated association, which subsequently became the re-branded Southern Highlands Suicide Prevention program (SHSPP Inc). The SHSPP has been instrumental in conducting educational programs and awareness programs for the community by delivering training by LifeForce and LifeLine, as well as making available help and referral resources to medical practices, hotels and clubs.Of late there have been a number of collaborative ventures between WHAM Inc and SHSPP Inc due to the number of mutually inclusive issues surrounding the high rates of male suicides and the reluctance by young males, in particular, to engage in mainstream health services. WHAM Inc has also taken a lead role in working collaboratively with the Uniting Church to develop the "Bowral Men's Shed" program, and with Anglicare to develop and auspice the "Mentoring towards Manhood" program at Moss Vale. Undoubtedly, these projects would not have come fruition or be carried without the dedication and innovative creativity of the worker from the Bowral Mental Health Service who has taken on the role and has nurtured these very valuable mental health promotion projects. He has been able to source the necessary seeding and to cobble together the partnership of agencies to be best able to deliver the projects to their current state of being valuable resources for the community in the Wingecarribee.

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