Living Library Videos
Introduction
The South Western Sydney Local Health District – Mental Wellbeing Team has worked with partner organisations to deliver digital Living Library videos to tackle stigma around mental illnesses and normalise help-seeking behaviours.
There is a selection of English-speaking videos from Aboriginal and multicultural community members, and in Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese languages. These stories are from people experiencing mental health challenges, carers and service providers within mental health support services.
Merv shares his mental health journey as an Aboriginal Men’s group facilitator in south west Sydney. He shares the importance of safe spaces for Aboriginal men to support each other and how to manage self-care to maintain wellbeing.
May Lyn talks about her mental health recovery and self-care strategies as a Cambodian woman of a refugee background.
Aunty Dolly is a carer. She speaks about how her carer group and creative outlets supports her and her daughter. Aunty Dolly advocates for more open spaces to be able to have mental health conversations.
Sunil is a mental health professional with lived experience. He shares how he recovered and wanted to help others in their mental health journey. He stays physically active and meditates to manage his mental wellbeing.
Antonia speaks about being a carer of adult children and how she overcame stigma about reaching out for support services.
Fatimah shares her lived experience as an Uyghur woman and how mental health supports have helped her in her recovery.
Dallas is a mental health worker. As a clinician, she shares what she does to maintain mental wellbeing and what people can do about their own mental health.
Lily is a mental health peer support worker. She shares her lived experience as a migrant woman and recovery journey.
Victoria arrived from Chile as a refugee. She shares her story of escaping domestic violence and how her mental health recovery was supported by accessing mental health services. She shares her self-care practices in her plants and paintings.
Tareq describes his mental health journey as an Arabic speaking man. He shares his thoughts on managing his spirituality and mental health experiences with mental health services.
Cheryl is a carer and teacher. She describes her experiences with finding the supports for her family and herself.