Family Support Group

Friends in Hope is also concerned about the families whose close ones are afflicted with a mental illness. It is a fact that the families also need advice, encouragement and support in order to cope with the situation and be able to take care of their parent, child or relative who has a mental illness.

Consequently, Friends in Hope meets and regroups the concerned families through the Family Support Group programme which enables sharing of information by the families and their own experiences with regards to taking care and living with someone suffering from mental illnesses, problems being faced, how to handle a particular situation as well as the mentally ill person. In so doing, the Family Support Group helps to alleviate the stressful situation in daily life and thus bringing in harmony and feeling of goodness within the family.

All information shared or exchanged is treated with high confidentiality and remains within the group.

For more information on the Family Support Group, please call on 592 47 601 or email: [email protected]

Caring for Carers

Take care of yourself!

Are you a carer without realizing it? Carers are people who provide practical and emotional support to persons with mental health problems. Most often they are the mother or sister or close relative of the sufferer. But a carer could also be a friend or a neighbour.

If you are providing help or support to a member of your family, a partner or a friend who is experiencing some form of mental distress, then you are a carer. You have an important role to play for this person, and you perhaps need support yourself.

In order to be effective in helping a person with mental distress, do not neglect your own health, specially if you have other family responsibilities or if you have to cope with this problem by yourself.

Often carers find it difficult to come to terms with the illness of their close relative. They may therefore find it even more difficult to face the community to explain the problem to others, as they feel that others will not understand. These carers thus become very isolated. Caring responsibilities in this situation often make carers unwell and over-stressed.

Even if you have a burden of responsibility, you owe it to yourself to have a healthy lifestyle and social interaction. It is easier to achieve this if you can enjoy the support of a professional team who can understand and listen to you. This is where Friends in Hope can help, as it recognizes the important role of carers and their need for a support system.

If you want support as a carer or more detailed information on the support services being offered by the association, please contact Friends in Hope by calling or emailing the Centre. The more people get involved, the easier it will be to organize support.

Phone Number: 454 0849

Email: [email protected]