CASH DONATION – $9,978.66
Respite and Education for Liverpool LGA kids living in families affected by mental illness.
18 kids from Liverpool LGA, living in a family affected by mental illness, will attend a respite and educational weekend camp. They will participate in a range of recreational activities (like abseiling, high ropes, canoeing, rock climbing etc) and fun activities (games, craft, movies etc), plus Chat Groups – the psycho-educational component of camp. They will learn about mental illness, learn coping skills and where to turn for help when things get tough, to build their resilience. Meeting other kids in similar circumstances will reduce isolation.
Camp will provide respite from their everyday responsibilities. Studies show children who live with mental illness are 50% more likely to develop mental health issues without some form of early intervention. Parental mental illness impacts children in a variety of ways – parental apathy, poor emotional support, inconsistent behaviour and, sometimes, inappropriate care, abuse or violence.
Children can be affected by physical separation from their parents due to hospitalisation; financial disadvantage, due to the parent’s inability to work; the stigma of mental illness, increasing isolation and leaving children burdened to care for their parents with little or no support By participating in this project, children’s quality of life will improve through:
• the development of relationships with peers in similar circumstances, so they reduce their sense of isolation and increase social integration within the community;
• psycho-educational support so they develop coping strategies; build resilience; learn about looking after their own physical and mental wellbeing; and understand the importance of looking after their own aspirations for the future;
• the prevention of future behavioural mental health and associated anti social problems, through early intervention;
• individual cases of abuse documented and reported, resulting in the safe relocation of children, if needed;
• successful counselling, where needed, resulting in the prevention of intent to suicide; and
• a lot of fun, participating in activities they would not normally be able to acccess, plus giving them something to look forward to as the next Kookaburra event is planned.