Counsellor Steve Vanderwerf hopes a renovated caravan could provide a first step for people struggling with mental health issues to reach out for help.
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"Many people suffer alone, so when they are walking down the street feeling misunderstood, unsupported and afraid, having a safe place to step into could just save a life," said Mr Vanderwerf, who runs Catch Counselling and Wellbeing in Soldiers Hill.
Mr Vanderwerf is hoping to refurbish a caravan in to a welcoming space providing resources, information and a safe place to talk that can be parked in community locations such as shopping centres, libraries, RSL clubs, markets and other events.
"Our community needs as much mental health support as possible, especially now," he said.
The idea for a mental health hub has been in his mind for years and before COVID he was considering a shopfront, but now believes a mobile hub would help more people.
The idea was solidified with a client who had been off work for 18 months due to injury just as the global pandemic started. He suffered severe depression and anxiety, but after obtaining a care plan from his GP, the first appointment he could get in six months.
After weeks of persistence by his concerned wife, he was able to get short-term help from a community provider, but in the interim there was nowhere he could walk in to and ask for help.
Mr Vanderwerf said the idea was also shaped from his own experiences of anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress.
"When I look back in to my past, there were times when I felt courageous, when I could do things and if I had seen a mobile hub or something that would have caught me in my time of clarity I might have walked in.
"Reaching out was hard for me but if there was someone there at that time I might have taken that step earlier. If it's there and someone sees it, it might be their first step to say they are struggling a bit.
With mental health services stretched and long waiting lists for professional help Mr Vanderwerf fears many are falling through the cracks.
"You feel alone, lost, feeling like you're in the shadows and people don't understand. It's really tough. I don't like thinking that people are out there with that thinking and feeling. Sometimes an email or phone call doesn't work for them, or to reach out to the doctor and get on a waiting list to see someone.
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"This will be a first initial resource, a tool to use while waiting for help. It can be months before you can see someone and if it helps one person, or 10, or 100 people then it's worth it. They need to recognise they are not alone and there are some things in their control they can do and hopefully it's enough to keep on fighting and going.
"I think we have a duty of care almost to help as many people as we can."
As a community initiative, Mr Vanderwerf has created a Facebook group and a GoFundMe page to raise money for the van and its refurbishment.
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