Simon’s Story

Simon’s story tells how mental challenges affected his family

“Well it’s impacted my life big time in the sense that it’s changed my social life, in the sense that I found that I had to look after 3 children who had a mental illness. The hardest thing I guess is  to explain to a 10 year old what is happening to him when he is having an episode.  I really didn’t know what to do. I found that using common sense and a lot of patience and a lot of listening helped me to cope with what was happening and understand what was going on.  It has taught me, I guess patience.  I found it really hard to talk to anyone about it.

I am fortunate in the sense that I am employed by HelpingMinds® as a Family Support Worker and the training I received regarding mental illnesses helped me to go a long way in coping and dealing with the children I have.

HelpingMinds® has given me hope for the future and I can see the kids can understand what they are doing… there is still a long way to go but they’re getting there.

There is no shame to go up and ask a doctor or someone at a medical clinic to ask about mental illness.  We are different to other agencies, we listen to them and we deal with it. 

Most of our work is listening… so we look after families wholly and solely.  We give people the skills to cope with everyday life.  HelpingMinds® to me is assisting families with loved ones who have mental illnesses to move forward and be independent and confident, give them hope for the future, so they can cope with everyday life.”