The team at LiveBetter are pouring their efforts into providing support and care for people living with psychosocial trauma, providing a safe space for people to access during times of high stress. Focusing on client choice, the LiveBetter team prioritise the building of relationship and rapport with their clients, forming the building blocks to make way for eventual progression to working on practical life choices.
Their ‘Relaxation Room’, currently in its beginning phases of development, will be a stripped back, calming environment featuring quiet, meditative areas for clients to wind down in healthy, constructive ways.
“We prioritise client choice above regimented programs and tasks,” Jodi Warby says, Support Leader at LiveBetter Rockhampton. “Our clients are dealing with some very complex issues that require that foundation of relationship to be built before we can begin work with things like budgeting and housing etc, so we are very adaptive to fluctuate with client needs.”
“We’re really excited to get this space up and running because we can see there’s such a need for it,” says Jodi.
“What our clients need most a lot of the time is a place they can come to where they do feel safe and stress free. There’s a lot to say about clearing the mind that makes way for someone to be able to move forward clearly to start addressing other areas of need in their life.”
With a regular schedule of activities and programs throughout the month, the LiveBetter team have structured programs in such a way that allows for flexibility without an overwhelming over commitment from clients.
“Offering a 12 month program is just not viable,” says Jodi. “Our clients need something they can work with, that isn’t a stressful thing to commit to, and also something that works in with their life and needs, so we opt to work in 6-week blocks and we find that is much more workable.
Most of all it’s our passion to make a difference for the better in peoples lives and that’s what drives us and our decisions.”
Activities such as Back to Basics, Women’s Yarning Circle and day-to-day living support, are enabling clients to build strong foundations and connections that are essential for eventual community participation.
Support for mental health cannot be achieved without action across society as a whole as well as at a governance level for policy making. Long term results rely on government support which is why the introduction and longevity of the NDIS program is so important.
“It’s not enough to just be functional,” says Jodi. “It’s about being able to thrive and live their best life at the same time.”
