Wellways

Overview

Wellways is a not-forprofit membership organisation and is a Company Limited by Guarantee.

Our primary purpose is to support people with mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities, their families and their friends in order to gain inclusion into communities; to create a home, get a job and build meaningful relationships. We provide this support through recovery, education and advocacy programs.

Recovery approaches and advocacy underpin all of our work and are our two very clear ‘reasons for being’. Wellways' advocacy and recovery services enable us to work toward social inclusion for people with mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities.

We operate in a context that maintains that people with mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities have both the right, and the potential, to live their lives untouched by societal stigma or discrimination. We work proactively to support this right and potential through a range of partnerships.

We acknowledge that mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities have a broad impact on associated families and friends who are often denied effective support systems. We work to assist people with mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities and their families to gain better access to community supports. We work towards enabling social inclusion with people who experience mental illness and other psychosocial disabilities, their families and friends.

Our model of support brings together evidence from research with understanding of people’s lived experience of mental illness. We work in partnership with people to assist them to identify their own needs and goals, and to support them along their individual pathways to recovery.

Our organisation was established in 1978 by families wanting to improve the services and information available to people affected by mental illness. Today, Wellways is one of Australia’s leading mental health community support agencies, providing services to around 5,000 people a year, and reaching many more through advocacy and community education activities.

We deliver programs across metropolitan and regional Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Tasmania.

We aim to ensure that our services are culturally sensitive, meeting the diverse needs within our community. We recognise that people’s cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, gender and sexual identity can have an important part to play in their mental health.

Support for individual paths to recovery from Mental Illness. Workers to assist participants to identify needs and goals, develop a recovery plan and access to flexible programs.
*One to one support packages tailored for your needs
*Wellways suite of educational programs to assist in recovery for participants and carers
*Optimal Health Program which will improve physical, emotional and psychological well-being
*Social groups to meet new people and connect with others
*Hearing voicies which is a support group to explore the experience of hearing voices and new waysof coping and living
*Volunteering support and opportunities
*Helpline for free confidential short term suipport when needed.
*Support for carers of people with a Mental illness including social activities & retreats, respite, support for young carers, volunteering opportunities and support through Helpline
*Youth residential service Purra Gunya supporting young people aged between 16-25yrs with a mental illness in recovery programs
*Understanding Mental Illness Programs

Major Events

Involvement with Mental Health Week and Carers Week in October.

Skills and Resources

Personal Support and Counselling

Seeking New Members:

Yes

looking for Volunteers:

Ongoing Role

AGM

Service Areas

Corangamite, Glenelg, Moyne, Southern Grampians, Warrnambool