People like Liz need your kindness and compassion

Liz grew up in a dysfunctional family where she was forced to learn how to raise herself. She experienced a lot of abuse, and spent her childhood in and out of psychiatric wards with a long list of conditions like Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Suicidal Depression and Severe Panic Disorder.

After years of feeling unsafe and misunderstood, it’s easy to see how someone like Liz would find it hard to trust new people or be comfortable in unfamiliar settings.

In fact, people with severe mental illness are among the most isolated in our society. But you can help.

Liz’s psychiatrist at The Royal Melbourne’s community mental health clinic referred her to Danny, who’s a Senior Exercise Physiologist at The RMH. Working with him has completely changed her life.

With your help, Danny works with people like Liz to increase their inner and outer strength – he uses physical exercise, diet and a healthy routine to help give patients stability, self-worth, a sense of purpose and a greater connection to their community.

The RMH’s mental health clinic currently has an empty room that could be transformed into a private community gym space where patients like Liz would feel safe to start rebuilding their lives – please will you give generously today to help fill it with equipment?

Liz was fortunately well enough to meet Danny for their sessions at a local gym that lets him use their space, free of charge. But there are currently many other patients at the clinic who’d benefit tremendously from exercise, but who are unable to start because their anxieties are too severe. 

By creating this safe and private gym space inside the clinic, you can help transform the lives of people with severe mental illness who often slip through the cracks.  ​​​​​​​