Who Gives? The Dedicated Volunteer

THE DEDICATED VOLUNTEER

WHO?

Kerryal Willis, 65

WHERE?

Launceston, Tasmania

WHAT?

Since 1995, Kerryal has spent her days at ARAFMI, an Association for Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill or visiting patients at the local psychiatric hospital. Her current role is co-ordinating the ARAFMI team of volunteers.

WHEN?

Every working day, for four to six hours plus hospital visits.

WHY?

Kerryal has lived around mental illness all her life. Members of her family suffered and she did what s he could to help them. For her, in that caring role, there was a feeling of being totally alone. She also felt that the clinicians were not listening to her or working with her to help out the family unit. K erryal says that supporting families dealing with mental illness is vital. She knows that without it, the family falls apart and that it is particularly detrimental for the children if there is no support.

ARAFMI in Tasmania has 10 phone volunteers or ‘befrienders’. They have all been a carer or close friend of someone with a mental illness and some have also experienced anxiety or depression hemselves as a result of the burden.

People phone up who are carers or who suffer from mental illness and the befrienders offer support. According to Kerryal, the stories they are hearing from the community are becoming more extreme a nd the volunteers also have to support each other because of the intensity of

what they are dealing with.

ARAFMI’s volunteers also run a library and peer support groups for carers and people who live with depression, eating disorders or bipolar disorder. The psychiatric ward is close by and the volunteers visit regularly and give talks to the patient group once a month.

Her friend and former colleague Leanne Carlon says that Kerryal is an amazing woman who tirelessly gives her time to listening to and helping people as well as trying to make changes to the system.