June 2007

DVD gives hope on mental health

A new DVD helps families dealing with a son or daughter with a mental illness.

The Where There’s Hope DVD shares the real experiences of three families who tell their stories with honesty and candour.

Where There’s Hope has been developed in close partnership with ORYGEN Youth Health’s family peer support workers, who understand how overwhelming, emotional and bewildering the experience of having a son or daughter with a mental illness can be.

Yet the strong message on the DVD from parents and families was that there is always reason for hope.

‘Where there’s hope there’s life, just keep persevering and never give up,’ says Marion, whose daughter has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

‘I’m a fighter for my kids and I’ll never give up on them.’

Where There’s Hope is available to all families who have a young person attending ORYGEN Youth Health.

The DVD will also be distributed to other mental health services in Victoria, mental health professionals and community agencies.

Where There’s Hope is the result of a collaboration between ORYGEN’s family peer support workers, the Melbourne Community Foundation and the training and development team at ORYGEN Research Centre.

North West Mental Health’s ORYGEN Youth Health provides a comprehensive series of programs to provide assistance to young people with mental health problems.

NWMH is a clinical division of Melbourne Health and operates in partnership with Northern Health and Western Health.

•             For more information about Where There’s Hope contact ORYGEN Research Centre on 9342 3744 visit www.orygen.org.au.