One of the greatest challenges facing people with mental health issues is overcoming social isolation and feeling disconnected from their community.

Our Personal Helpers and Mentors Program (PHaMs), in Cranbourne Victoria, aims to provide practical and emotional holistic support to people aged 16 and over with severe functional limitations as a result of mental illness.

The program is a key part of the Australian Government’s Mental Health package, which was announced in the 2006 Budget and is part of the Council of Australian Government’s National Action Plan on Mental Health.

An innovative feature of the PHaMs program is that it provides participants with personal support through mentorship.

In this way the program not only addresses barriers to social isolation, but also offers individual support at a personal level through a positive and beneficial relationship with a volunteer mentor.

WISE PHaMs Team Leader Lisa Moss believes that mentors are the key ingredient of this program.

“Participants will work with their own Mentor who will help them to achieve individual recovery goals to ensure the best possible outcomes in their lives.”

“Mentors can help participants in many different ways; reconnecting someone to the community, teaching someone to use public transport or just being there to talk when things aren’t going well.”

PHaMs is still seeking volunteer mentors. Mentors would need to have a good understanding of mental health, be reliable, respectful, committed and encouraging and ideally be over 25 years of age. For further information about becoming a volunteer mentor, please contact the PHaMs team on 5996 3511.