Their bit for mental health

LOCAL groups providing much-needed support to people with mental illness promoted an important initiative last week.
Holt MP Anthony Byrne met with Jessica White and Fawn Brady from Kane’s Crusade on World Mental Health Day which falls on 10 October, to promote Mental Health Week, which ran from 1 to 11 October.
With almost half of Australians experiencing mental illness at some point in their lives, Mr Byrne said it was wonderful to have so many local groups such as Kane’s Crusade, Beehive, Angel Light Link, Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide and Windermere providing much-needed support for people suffering from a mental illness or going through difficult times.
He said local groups that complemented the work of national organisations like Lifeline and Headspace were important in providing much-needed mental health support, especially for young people.
“On behalf of the local community, I want to thank all our local community groups and volunteers involved in mental health groups such as Kane’s Crusade, Beehive, Angel Light Link, Coming Together to Prevent Youth Suicide and Windermere who provide a vital service for the community during times of need,” Mr Byrne said.
Kane’s Crusade plans to help change the stigma that is attached to depression and mental illness in the community and around the world for those suffering from the illness. They want people to openly say that they are not OK and try to seek help. They also plan to build an ALIVE CENTRE for recovery and rehabilitation for depression sufferers. To find out more, visit www.kanescrusade.net or email kanescrusade@gmail.com.
Beehive aims at implementing programs to help youth, aged 13-21, develop coping strategies, self-esteem and confidence through life skills which focus on work ethic, motivation and goal setting.
Angel Light Link focuses on the care and support of young women who are at-risk or who are struggling with issues such as poor body image, eating disorders, sexual abuse, depression, peer pressure and low self-esteem.
Coming Together To Prevent Suicide is a Facebook page, about peer-to-peer support and Windermere provides a variety of programs to help and support people in need.