Every Thursday afternoon, eleven people from WISE Employment’s Personal Helpers and Mentors Program (PHaMs) meet to take part in a walking group.

The Personal Helpers and Mentors Program (PHaMs) is a new program that supports people whose lives are severely affected by mental illness.

As the PHaMs provider in Casey Southern B Victoria, WISE Employment is a not-for-profit organisation with over 23 years experience providing support services to members of some of our most marginalised communities.

The walking group is one of a number of activities that has been introduced for participants of the PHaMs program to take part in.

Nicky Van Dyk is a PHaMs community health worker and coordinates the walking group.

Nicky believes that the walking group is a really important activity for people who are suffering from mental illness, as it helps to improve symptoms of mental illness, as well as social connectedness.

“Regular walking improves fitness, reduces stress and anxiety and improves mental outlook, self esteem and sleep patterns,” said Nicky.

“We have had a really great response to the group so far,” said Nicky. “Some people were really apprehensive at first but are really feeling the benefits now of being involved with our walking group.”

“Many of these people are very isolated and so the group encourages them to socialise with other people, as well as getting out of the house and doing some regular exercise.

”Each of the walkers wear a pedometer, which counts the number of steps that they take in their walk.

“The pedometer is a great motivator for our walkers, as it measures how many steps they take in a walk,” she said. “It is an amazing tool as it gives our walkers a tangible result to focus on and helps them to set goals to try and walk more steps in their next walk.”

The walking group meets for an hour each week and regularly changes its walking routes in and around the City of Casey.

The PHaMs program is still seeking volunteer mentors for one on one mentoring, as well as a variety of group activities, such as the walking group. For further information, please contact the PHaMs team on 5996 3511 or visit the Community section of the WISE website.

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> Personal Helpers and Mentors Program (PHaMs)