Elm St Mission
Did You Know?
- Each year, approximately one in every five Australians will experience a mental illness?
- It is estimated about 45% of Australians may experience mental illness at some point in their lives?
- Anxiety affects over two million Australians each year, with approximately 14% of the population experiencing anxiety?
- Many violent people have no history of mental disorder, and most people with mental illness (90%) have no history of violence?
Mental Health
Mental ill-health is an issue that affects all of us. Over four million Australians will experience mental illness this year alone. Many more of us will be affected as family members, friends and colleagues.
A mental illness is a disorder diagnosed by a medical professional that significantly interferes with an individual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities.
A mental health problem also interferes with a person’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities, but may not meet the criteria for a diagnosed mental illness. Mental health problems often occur as a result of life stressors, and are usually less severe and of shorter duration than mental illnesses.
Effective interventions can prevent the development of anxiety and depression, delay the onset of these conditions, and reduce the severity, duration, and impact of symptoms.
In response to identified people’s needs, Bayswater Uniting Church has teamed up with mental health professionals to provide a safe welcoming community space. It is called the Elm St Mission, due to its location on the corner of Elm Street and Mountain Highway, Bayswater.
This community space provides a place to be, to engage in therapeutic activities, form new friendships and receive needed supports.
About Elm Street Mission
The core principle of Elm St Mission arrives from a theology of mission which sees the key mission of the church as ‘being with’, not ‘doing for’. We may or may not be able to solve problems, or ‘fix them’ as such, but what we can do, is offer a safe and loving space where people can gather, feel they belong, where they are valued, respected, supported and encouraged. This then becomes our mission - to be ‘with’. A core goal is community.
The Elm Street Mission provides a welcoming space for those with mental health and wellbeing issues and/or who are socially isolated. It provides structured activities to create opportunities for people to socialise and engage in the wider community from which they may feel excluded due to mental health issues or limited finances.
A place where you can feel you belong ... among friends.