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Carers sharing experiences
18 July 2008 A series of 110 workshops across Australia are underway to look at ways to improve the lives of family and friends of someone who has a mental illness through shared experiences. Three of these workshops were recently held within Hunter New England Health, as part of the ‘Carer Engagement Project’ was a partnership facilitated and funded by the Mental Health Council of Australia. One of the three Hunter New England Health workshops was recently held in Charlestown at the Madison Motel. Cheree Flanagan, a social worker with HNE Health’s Supported Recovery Service at Lake Macquarie, said the one-day workshop held in Charlestown was a great success, providing carers with an opportunity to meet others in similar circumstances and identifying common issues and positive coping strategies. Cheree and Family and Carer Project Social Worker Wayne Caruana, worked in partnership with EDUCARE and non-government carer groups Carer Assist (Liz Bosworth) and ARAFMI (Association of the Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill) in the Hunter (Joanne Sinclair). "The aim of the workshop was to hear and record the real life experiences of people who care for someone who has a mental illness," Cheree said. "It gave attendees the opportunity to hear from and speak to other people who care for a family member or friend with a mental illness. Carers were able to talk about their experiences and what helps them to be a carer. The day included a panel of three local guest speakers, including Dr Dinesh Arya (Director of Mental Health Services, HNE Health), Murray Lundberg (Duty Officer Inspector, Customer Service, Lake Macquarie Local Area Command) and Katrina Holding (Customer Service Advisor, Charlestown Centrelink). The carers had a unique chance to ask some tough questions from the panel and broaden their understanding of the systems at work. One of the carer participants, Roz Poidevin, said the workshop was very interesting. "Discussing the ideas and the experiences of others was very useful. I hope that something good comes from the workshop findings," she said. The Mental Health Council of Australia will use the experiences and information from the workshops to develop an annual snapshot of mental health carers’ experiences. "This snapshot will be used to work for better outcomes for mental health carers and to demonstrate, over time, any improvements for mental health carers and where more work needs to be done," Cheree said.
Contact: Kay Cope
Phone: 6776 9817
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