By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
NATURALLY there’s always a fair bit of ‘chewing the fat’ at a sausage sizzle.
Last Monday, long lines of people hovered at Beyondblue’s Big Blue Bus with a big hot barbie cooking up 40 kilos of snags in Dandenong’s civic plaza.
It was part of a national roadshow travelling more than 45,000 kilometres with staff and information brochures helping people to broach their troubles – depression, anxiety, suicide and bereavement.
The bus’s driver Peter Kindermann, of Mt Martha, has been there from the start.
He offered his 1980 Bedford after hearing Beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett talk about the need to reach out to rural communities.
“From what I’ve seen, people just want a safe person to talk to,” the former industrial-integrator said.
Staffer David Surtees said he was surprised how younger people – lured by the 3rd Noble Park Scouts’ sausage sizzle as well as the youth mental-health network ‘headspace’ brochures – opened up about their mental health.
“It’s been really encouraging,” Mr Surtees said.
“When I was younger, people didn’t want to talk about it.”
There were a range of clever, targeted ice-breakers on the pamphlet stand – ‘man therapy’ drink coasters, self-assembly Big Blue Bus money boxes for kids and a mailbox for people to post their confidential mental-health pledges.
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams told the Journal she’d made a pledge to get five hours sleep at night. After consultation with a staffer, she upped the ante to six hours.
The Journal’s bitterly cynical correspondent pledged to smile more often.
The pledges will be returned to their senders in 12 months’ time, no doubt confronting many with their lapsed promises.
As the last of the sausages were cooked, a woman sidled up to the stand and sought advice for her husband.
There were some brochures on how to set the scene and mood to tackle potentially awkward conversations with sufferers.
Others dug around for depression and anxiety material for their parents whose social networks had dwindled as they aged. A booklet was sassily titled Over Bloody 80.
A worker at a nearby homelessness service picked up some information for her colleagues.
There’s also information on how to help a friend who’s “not OK”, for parents to help their kids, and for those bereaved by suicide.
Project manager Sarah Hayes said mental health problems were on the rise, but so was awareness.
“The thing people need most is someone to listen to them – a conversation.
“They just want to let it out,” Surtees said.
Beyond blue has a 24/7 hotline 1300 33 46 36 and online support at beyondblue.org.au.
