Mental health issues click into place

For immediate release

14 May 2007

Mental health issues click into place

People in Canterbury dealing with mental health issues can now access information easier than ever before. All it takes is a click of the mouse.

The Canterbury Mental Health Education and Resource Centre Trust (MHERC) has launched a website www.mherc.org.nz to inform the public of the support services available including its free mental health library.

The on-line library allows people from throughout Canterbury to order an item and have it delivered free to their home address. The library is not just books but also a range of videos, DVDs, CDs, audio tapes and brochures.

“Knowledge and support are important factors in recovery and important for those people in close contact with people experiencing mental illness,’’ says MHERC centre manager Len West.

“For example if you have a family member who starts to exhibit symptoms of mental illness then you have to understand what is happening in their mind in order to provide them with the help and support that they so badly need.”

Also available online for the first time is the Christchurch Urban Mental Health Directory which lists the majority of agencies providing mental health support services within the city.

A new directory covering mental health support services available in rural parts of Canterbury is currently being compiled.

Mr West says the website is designed for people with experience of mental illness, their families and friends, students, mental health professionals, and social service agencies, including schools and government departments.

“MHERC is well aware of stigma in the community surrounding mental illness and strongly supports moves to remove the barriers and increase the acceptance,’’ Mr West says.

“With one in four suffering from some form of mental illness at any one time there is no need for sufferers to be stigmatized – the need is for them to be helped, supported, and understood.

“We hope by making information readily available on-line we can educate the community and ensure those living with mental illness are better understood and supported.’’

ENDS

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