Mental Health Check-in at Kalkallo Centre
Mental health check-in at Kalkallo centre
Kalkallo’s Positive Wellness Recovery Centre, PWRC, last week welcomed Member for Thomastown Bronwyn Halfpenny for a tour of the premises and a discussion about mental health.
The PWRC was founded by mental health nurse and Member of the Order of Australia Francis Acquah and officially opened late last year, focusing on providing a range of wellness programs for mental health, disability support, and recovery therapy in a non-confronting setting.
Ms Halfpenny said she was ‘blown away’ by how far the centre had come.
“[Mr Acquah has] put a really incredible vision into practice,” she said.
“Mental ill health is the crisis of our times and to see the work, the commitment, and the passion in trying to make people well and improve their lives, it’s incredible that we have people like this.”
The PWRC prides itself on being approachable and offers a wide range of care centred around fostering positive mental health, something Ms Halfpenny said was much-needed in the community..”
“Sometimes with the way people’s lives are they’re a bit chaotic, so it’s important to have services and support that actually accepts that and isn’t so rigid,” she said.
“When they’re feeling down and want to do something or have a talk, people can come here, and they know they’ll be welcomed at any time.”
Mr Acquah said he was proud to have Ms Halfpenny visit the PWRC.
“Sometimes [politicians] sit in their tower in the city and don’t actually know what is happening on the ground, so we appreciate having Bronwyn. It’s not her electorate, but to come in and actually see what we’re doing here is humbling,” he said.
“It’s very exciting for somebody in government to take the time to come and visit and see the reality of what is happening here.”
Mr Acquah said the PWRC continued to grow, with multiple clients visiting the centre on a regular basis and interest growing in the multiple programs and services on offer, including drumming and dancing.
The PWRC is also progressing on Project Sunrise, a State Government-funded Alcohol and Other Drug, AOD, initiative devised by Mr Acquah to provide support to African families and youth in Australia.
“It’s been funded for the past three years by the State Government, and we’ve been able to demonstrate to have it continue for the next three years at least, so we are grateful,” Mr Acquah said.
“My goal and my hope is that we will have a mental health component to that funding so that we can support people and work on the issue of helping young people to reconnect with society.”
The PWRC is located at 3-9 Cameron Street, Kalkallo. For more information, people can email admin@pwrc.com.au or call 1300 025 864.