Community agencies supporting each other

A workshop organised by Mindfull Aus last month provided a number of Baw Baw Food Relief volunteers vital skills for supporting people with mental health challenges.

The "Building Wellbeing" training guided participants through a session that focused on supporting others and supporting self, while giving everyone the chance to build confidence, language and real world skills for those tough moments.

As front line supports for people in need, Baw Baw Food Relief vice-president Mark Cleeman said the training was highly beneficial for the 10 volunteers who attended.

"Our volunteers can help feed the need because that's what we do, but in terms of helping people with their mental health, it's not something we're comfortable with or we qualified for," Mr Cleeman explained. "We're not counsellors - we do our best and we listen, and we're a shoulder to lean on."
"(We learnt) a lot about how to potentially identify someone who's coming in (to BBFR) who is really stressed and anxious and might even be thinking about taking their own lives."

Mr Cleeman said the workshop helped volunteers to understand the different ways stress, anxiety and complicated mental health challenges could manifest in people, for example sweating or fidgeting or raised voices.

"The workshop helped us to be able to identify those things and then be able to say to someone, are you okay? Do you need to sit and chat for a while?"
"The other really important part is then to not resolve their problems for them, because we aren't councillors and we're not qualified, but to point them in the direction of the help that they need."

Mr Cleeman said the Mindfull Aus training was offered to food relief volunteers after the two support agencies formed a connection at the Gazette Community Sleepout last October.

Mindfull Aus chief executive officer Matt Runnalls said providing the training to BBFR "just made sense."
"We've seen the amazing work Baw Baw Food Relief do in the community to help and support people in need," he said.
"We want to upskill our community and (increase) their confidence in supporting people."