Authors: Baptist Care (SA) Inc. (BC(SA)) and the Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia Inc. (MIFSA)
Year: 2011
Event: 2011 TheMHS Awards
Subject:
Type of resource: TheMHS Awards
Award state: SA
Award level: Finalist
Award category: Non Government Organisation (NGO) Provided Services
Abstract: The Peer Work Project is jointly managed by Baptist Care (SA) and the Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia. The Project commenced in 2005 with funding provided by the Mental Health Unit, Department of Health, South Australian Government. The Project’s initial focus was providing training and mentoring support for people living with a mental illness who wanted to be peer workers. Over the years, the award-winning Project has evolved into a program that also assists employing organisations to prepare for the introduction of peer workers in their workforce, as well as providing support for employed peer workers. The Project has led to more than 360 consumers completing the Project’s Introduction to Peer Work course, with good employment outcomes for graduates in the sector. The Project has contributed to the workforce development of peer worker roles and played a significant role in supporting mental health policy changes. Description of Facility/Organisation: Baptist Care (SA) Inc. (BC(SA)) is a not-for-profit NGO providing services in metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia, including: Homelessness, Aged Care, Youth Care, Refugee, Aboriginal, Employment, Adventure Camping and Health and Recovery Services. The Mental Illness Fellowship of SA (MIFSA) is part of the national organisation, the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA). MIFSA is a not-for-profit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organisation of people with serious mental illnesses, their families and friends. MIFSA’s services include: Personal Helpers and Mentors Programs, Counselling, Therapeutic Groups, Support Groups and Community Education. The Peer Work Project currently operates in metropolitan Adelaide. The Project is funded by the State Government (Mental Health Unit) with a current budget of $210,000/annum. The Project currently employs 2.5 FTE (1.8 FTE are consumers) and trains about 60 consumers/annum with 140 people engaged through its Peer Network. More than 70 people are provided mentoring/employment support/annum.
This resource is only available for subscribers. If you have a subscription, please log in. Otherwise, click here to purchase a subscription.