
Mental Health Peer Support; keeping a community connected
Donation protected
Hi, I am Kirstie, a Mental Health Service User, Carer and the Founding Director of A Path To Follow; our not for profit mental health peer support and advocacy service.
After almost losing our son several times to suicide, experiencing family trauma as participants within the mental health system and becoming exhausted and disillusioned by being underpaid to manage an amazing team set up to fail by a government's outdated and arbitrary service models and funding, I launched A Path To Follow.
I was tired and heartbroken from seeing our son failed, his bothers traumatised, our family irrevocably changed and my colleagues burnt out. I needed to stop contributing to the problem and become part of the solution.
I haven't been an idealist for some time now and I understand that we will not be able to effect wide spread change. People will continue to die before their time, young people will continue to be challenged by service environments we force them into and families will continue to experience trauma, conflict and breakdown.
The Mental Health System is still “broken”, despite the most recent Royal Commission and some amazing professionals within it. The politicians tell us, the service users and carers tell us. Those who work within it even tell us. There are not enough beds. There is a 12-month waitlist for service. Their books are closed. Service is only for 3 months. Only within business hours. They are sorry and they wish they could do more...
At A Path To Follow we see the people who fall through the gaps, who don't fit a rigid system's criteria and/or who need a trusted voice to represent their needs and preferences. We walk along young people and families while they find their internal gold and ensure that the service system fits them, rather than having to contort and harm themselves to fit the system.
We are not government funded and while we await the outcome of our Charity Application status we rely solely on limited community business partnerships, community donations, limited fees and the good will and belief of one community focused bank.
We need your support to ensure those young people and families, who cannot afford to pay full fee, can still be supported in a meaningful way, to ensure we can authentically walk beside them as peers and advocates and share care with our reputable service system partners to provide safe, non-stigmatised, respectful and best practice services.
Will you join us as A Path To Follower and help us enable sustained support to keep our young people and families connected to themselves, each other and community?
We really are immensely grateful.
Kirstie and the APTF Team.
Organizer
kirstie edwards
Organizer
Bentleigh, VIC