Spreading its caring wings

NOW in its 11th year, Jewish mental health support group Wings of Care continues to spread its wings.

Having last year launched a community support program with the Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s (JCCV) social justice committee, the organisation has also begun a program tailored for schoolchildren. Supported by the Gandel Foundation and affiliated with the Duke of Edinburgh awards, the initiative is currently focusing on bullying and cyber-bullying and aims to build a sense of community, leadership and self-esteem in the youth.

“Our vision is, through our various programs, to help prevent the onset of mental illness in our community, cater to the needs of those who are suffering, and provide easier access to appropriate services through our helpline and resource guide,” Wings of Care’s founding president and mental health issues advocate Lorraine Levy told The AJN. “We hope that more people will have a greater understanding and empathy towards sufferers and that the latter will no longer feel the need to hide their afflictions for fear of stigma and discrimination.”

In the past year, Wings of Care has trained volunteers from different shuls to work with people facing trying times, with representatives from almost every community synagogue now involved with the community support program.

“This program addresses these needs and others, and has brought together members of our community with all its diverse religious and not-so religious backgrounds,” she said.

According to Levy, the initiative has inspired the organisation to begin providing fresh fruit and vegetables to those in need.

“Fresh produce is a contributing factor to people’s wellbeing and the importance of good nutrition cannot be emphasised enough for people who are disadvantaged.”

In addition to the community support program, Wings of Care continues to operate its helpline, holds irregular meetings, shiurs, art-therapy classes and provides clothing and home-cooked meals.

Wings of Care developed from a visiting service, where representatives would visit and counsel people suffering from mental health issues and their families.

In recognition of Mental Health Week, the JCCV issued a statement this week urging the community to consider the messages of the week and to recognise that the Jewish community is not immune from the issues of mental health and associated poverty.

“Poverty and ill-health, which are often closely related, cut across every imaginable line: age, race, social, geographic and religious. And while Australia has been termed the Lucky Country for many reasons, it too has its share of human suffering,” president John Searle said. “To live in poverty or with mental health issues is to live with uncertainty, indignity and misunderstanding, and too often with harassment by those who blame the victim, as well as by others who are also poor and desperate.”

Searle acknowledged the efforts of Wings of Care in addition to other organisations such as Jewish Care Access, Australian Jewish Psychologists and Melbourne Jewish Charity Fund.

AJN STAFF