The last couple of months have been super busy for St Bart’s mental health staff as they took part in a number of Mental Health Week activities across our sites, followed up by their attendance at the 2019 WA Mental Health Conference.
Here we recap what staff and residents got up to while shining a light on this extremely important subject.
Arnott Community Recovery Village hosted a Hearing Voices high tea, where residents were treated to freshly baked scones, cupcakes, strawberries and popcorn as they listened to music and chatted about the importance of Mental Health Week.
After residents at our Sunflower Community Recovery Village expressed an interest in art and craft making, our staff introduced an art group and provided a canvas for each participant to create individual artworks with acrylic paints. Later, finished pieces were displayed in the communal unit for other residents to admire. The art group has gained huge momentum and is now running on a weekly basis and attracting more participants each time. During Mental Health Week, six residents also participated in making blue cupcakes and mixed berry smoothies.
Swan Community Recovery Village got right into the spirit of celebrating Mental Health Week by decorating Unit 3 with blue streamers and balloons, and hosting four separate events. Odd Socks Day was followed by a morning tea where residents played music and pool. There was a blue-themed barbecue in the evening, as well as a ‘Good Mental Health’-themed morning tea. Unit 3 also hosted a talent show, giving residents the opportunity to show off their art, tell a joke and improvise with the audience. All events were a great success!
Café Lime was full of activity on World Mental Health Day as Future Homes held an event that saw residents enjoying barista made coffee, food and music while taking part in Sudoku, Jenga, puzzles, adult colouring, painting, and most importantly, conversations with each other. A fingerprint sign in created a great piece of art for the meeting rooms, while participants were also given free socks and men’s mental health resource booklets.
On 19-20 November, some of our staff members attended the WA Mental Health Conference at Hyatt Perth. It was a great opportunity for us to hear from key leaders and speakers in the industry on a broad scope of mental health topics. St Bart’s had a station at the event, which gave us the valuable chance to showcase our new branding and speak face-to-face with attendees about the broad scope of services that we offer.
St Bart’s acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land that we live and work on, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation. We are privileged to work with, and alongside, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and encourage those who are emerging as leaders.
St Bart’s is committed to diversity and inclusion in all its forms. We welcome and support the health and wellbeing of all people, regardless of background, age, ethnicity, religion and gender identity.