IMAGINE being held captive by anxiety to the point of being unable to take the bus around town.<\/p>\n
Without the bus, food friends and family are all out of reach. Sara Smith Cunningham knows how mental unwellness feels.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to help others recover just like I have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Smith Cunningham is one of four trained peer support workers, with lived experience of mental health issues, delivering the Connecting2community support program at Ballarat Community Health.<\/p>\n
Co-designer of the program Rick Corney said they can connect with the people they work with because they have that shared lived experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey relate to us because we have been down the same track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people feel connected to their community their mental health improves because they are not lonely or isolated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-worker Lucy Beaton said having been personally on their own journeys of recovery, the team members are an example of how to get well step by step.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with people to set a self-selected achievable goal which helps give them courage and self-belief,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a peer workforce of four in the program, hopefully it inspires other people to pick up the phone and say \u2018I might be in a bad place now but with a bit of help from these guys I can get on my way\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information contact Ballarat Community Health on 5338 4500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IMAGINE being held captive by anxiety to the point of being unable to take the bus around town. Without the bus, food friends and family are all out of reach. Sara Smith Cunningham knows how mental unwellness feels. \u201cI want to help others recover just like I have,\u201d she said. Ms Smith Cunningham is one […]<\/p>\n