Well Together
Hi, I'm Lindy. I'm from Mackay Wellways and I have the pleasure of actually supporting a Well Together team up here in Mackay. Part of my role is to promote and let the community know what's available. And also look at providing support to our Well Together team to go and facilitate and bring that workshop to the community. Everyone involved in facilitating, and presenting and sharing their stories in the workshop has a lived experience. I think that's what makes it powerful. We go through some basic information around stigma, how we reduce that in the community. But what we found it's really about sharing those stories. And our Well Said speakers come in and share their lived experience of mental health challenges. But they also show and I think, communicate really well their hope, you know how they hold that hope of recovery, which is really powerful in the community. So a lot of our feedback has been towards what's worked and hearing those stories. One of the most positive experiences we've received so far, is having this group of young students go through their role is to then support others in the community. What they gained from that they actually sent feedback, explaining that was one of the best experiences of training that I've actually had so far.
So my role currently is at standby, support after suicide I think Lindy and the ladies are quite a close group. I think that to be able to share your lived experience that you have to feel safe and you have to feel supported. And I think Lindy's is able to do that. And you can see with the group that they they come as a little unit and they're strong together. We can read textbooks and we can go to university, but I think when people speak there with their open heart and they talk about their journey and their you know negative experiences and their positive experiences, you can really relate it to someone from a place where they have recovered and to say like well, that's possible to real face of hope.
My name is Kath, I come from a community organisation in Mackay and have a client that I supported through our homestay program. She was just starting her journey. She was in a position where she couldn't leave the house because of their mental health. Three years down the track, she's supporting herself. Now, her journey has gone on to a worldwide presenter. I could see the benefits after she completed that training, the benefits were fantastic.
My name is Deb and Lindy asked any support workers if they were interested in learning more about mental health because I support people with mental health problems, I thought it'd be a good opportunity that helps de-stigmatise mental health and even for a support worker, the successful lives that the people that gave the presentation are now having was exciting, it gave me more enthusiasm. I believe the Well Together workshops would have a greater impact on the wider community, I think that it would help de-stigmatise mental health and would promote awareness and acceptance.
In this community, I only recommend things that I trust and I believe in because I think people have one chance to go somewhere if they're not treated well or it's not a good experience we might lose them. So I know that with the lived experience through Wellways is that it's a very safe process. And after that, I know there's support I've been in the carpark with one of them after and she said "oh that's cool Lindy". So, you know, they know that that supports there for each other and I think that that's super important. I don't think there's anything like that in Mackay and I think that it needs to continue.
As a local person myself been here all my life. It was really special. We're really proud of what we've brought to Mackay. Everyone that's come in done a workshop and they think they belong to other communities, like a home to their families. They work in different locations, and I think it has a ripple effect. I think creating a welcoming space to explore what inclusive communities is. They all go away feeling quite inspired to then take that and have conversations throughout the community.
