MARCH 2020

IN THIS ISSUE

Strength Based Recovery Training with Helen Glover By Julian & Deanne

Gambling Support by Deanne Bloom A MESSAGE FROM

Steel Rudd Park - East OUR CEO Greenmount D E B B I E B A I L E Y by Julian Mudge Welcome to the March 2020 edition of our newsletter. We apologise for t he delay in publishing this month - we've been working to redesign our service so that we can continue to provide support in these changing Care For The Environment times. At Clubhouse Following the latest Government restrictions around COVID-19 we have by Amie Jennison d eveloped a new program which will commence from Monday 30 March. Our service will continue to evolve but for now, the focus is on providing extensive phone, email and text support to members with the Member Profile: addition of online programs and some face-to-face small group Deanne Bloom activities outside of Clubhouse (while observing social distancing, hygiene, group size and safety/wellbeing requirements for all.) by Julian Mudge Key features of the new program include: Morning Meetings will be streamed live on our Clubhouse News - New Clubhouse Facebook page daily Monday - Friday at 9:30am. Water tanks - Donation Face-to-Face - Connection through Gardening at Clubhouse (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday , 9am -11am.) Face-to-Face - Connection through Getting Healthy meet at Creative Corner: Clubhouse (Walk/Tai Chi, Tuesday and Friday, 1pm-3pm.) Poem - By Tia Marshall Online - Media and Comms crew Thursday 1-3pm Online - Private Facebook and chat groups for members Art - by Deanne Bloom Online - Regular phone, email and text check ins and support from staff (Monday - Friday, 9am - 4:30pm.)

This new program means the main Clubhouse building will be closed All articles in this newsletter from Monday 30 March. We encourage members to stay connected proudly written and published through the new program, via our Facebook page or by calling us on by members of Toowoomba the main number: 4632 4688. Clubhouse Until the next update, best wishes and stay safe. Debbie STRENGTH BASED RECOVERY TRAINING WITH HELEN GLOVER W R I T T E N B Y D E A N N E B L O O M Recovery Training Day was held on Wednesday 19th February at Toowoomba Clubhouse with Helen Glover delivering the training day to a full crowd. Helen presented an amazing day that left myself and many others filled with a sense of hope, understanding and definitely got our minds churning on this interesting topic.

If you’ve ever been told that recovery from a mental illness is not possible then this presentation is for you. Helen Glover is a social worker who has experienced the struggles of mental illness and the journey to recovery through the mental health sector of the government health system.

During her time at Clubhouse, Helen discussed the concepts of External Recovery and Internal Resilience, or whether members viewed their diagnosis as being life debilitating vs Life Transforming.

One of the most exciting topics was the evidence based studies that Helen presented on the idea of recovery. After an already thought provoking morning, Helen then really blew our minds when she presented us with resullts of the Vermont recovery studies. These studies were started in the 1950's and concluded around the 1970’s and 1980’s on recovery success rates in those suffering with Schizophrenia. According to the Vermont studies, two thirds of the people who participated in the thirty year study which completed in the 1980's no longer met the DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia. The results showed that the reason the success rate in Vermont was greatly higher purely came down to the one on one and group supports available to the participants after the initial support. It proved that ongoing support allowed more people to further their recovery, reduce symptoms and feel like they returned to their initial self. This information silenced the entire room for a good few minutes as everyone processed the results and what those results meant to each and every one of us and everyone that deals with mental health issues.

We then spoke about the barriers to our own mental health recovery and discussed the "boulders" that we carry. That whether in our minds or in the things we do or people we have around us; we can sometimes hold on to these "boulders" which make our journey harder, and if we focus on realising what our "boulders" are and being able to get around them we may find it easier to climb the recovery mountain.

This day felt very life changing; it gave me a few days of soul searching and resulted in a great renewed sense of hope for the future and all of the opportunities that recovery gives me and anyone else who has had the misfortune of dealing with mental health issues ongoing.

What boulders are you pushing? An interactive training activity led by Helen Glover

Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 GAMBLING SUPPORT - LIFELINE W R I T T E N B Y D E A N N E B L O O M

According to the website www.savings.com.au who reported statistics collected from the Treasury, between the years 2017 and 2018 Australians spent approximately $242 billion on gambling with 39% of the population participants. Now that’s a lot of cheesecakes!

The odds of a top prize being won on a poker machine (playing maximum lines) is 1 in 7,000,000, the odds of winning a 1st division in Gold Lotto with 1 game being played is 1 in 8,145,060 and the odds of someone winning the 10 number jackpot on Keno with 1 game being played in 1 in 8,911,711; the one thing that remains the same with all the different forms of gambling is that the favour is always on the side of the house. Meaning that the chances of winning are very low and this is because gambling is designed to return less money in winnings than is being gambled. Here is a check list that you can use to see where your gambling health is at.

Your Gambling Health Check If you’re not sure whether you have a gambling problem, answer the following questions:

Sometimes I’ve felt depressed or anxious after a session of gambling. ○ Yes ○ No Sometimes I’ve felt guilty about the way I gamble. ○ Yes ○ No When I think about it, gambling has sometimes caused me problems. ○ Yes ○ No Sometimes I’ve found it better not to tell others, especially my family, about the amount of time or money I spend gambling. ○ Yes ○ No I often find that when I stop gambling, I’ve run out of money. ○ Yes ○ No Often I get the urge to return to gambling to win back losses from a past session. ○ Yes ○ No I have received criticism about my gambling in the past. ○ Yes ○ No I have tried to win money to pay debts. ○ Yes ○ No

If you answered ‘YES’ to four or more questions, gambling may be causing you problems.

If you or anyone else that you know feel that you need some assistance with or want to know more about responsible gambling then Karen Moran will be holding sessions at Toowoomba Clubhouse every second Thursday of the month 10:30am – 11:30am, the next one is 09/04/2020, members, family members and carers are all welcome to attend. Please sign the sign-up sheet or contact staff to express your interest in attending.

Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 WARWICK AND TOOWOOMBA CLUBHOUSES JOIN FOR SOCIAL REC W R I T T E N B Y J U L I A N M U D G E

For the first time, Warwick Clubhouse was invited to join Toowoomba Clubhouse for lunch and the social rec which followed. Our social rec was a visit to Steele Rudd Park which both Warwick and Toowoomba members had not previously visited. The drive through the pleasant countryside, all green from recent rains was enjoyed by all. This was a great opportunity to learn a little bit about the amazing history of our local area. Including the hardships and difficulties faced by the pioneers.

Joined by Warwick Clubhouse, we drove out to Green Mount East to find Steele Rudd’s Park. This is a park celebrating the life of one of Australia’s greatest authors, Arthur Huey Davis also known as Steele Rudd. This park hosts the reconstruction of the house that Steele Rudd grew up in. It is situated on the corner of the original 64 hectare selection taken by Thomas and Mary Davis in the 1870s. The family's life here was the inspiration for the very popular books '', written by Arthur using the name Steele Rudd. The park was established in the 1970s by Arthur's youngest son Eric on land given by the owners at the time, the Lipp family. Eric's wish was to create the park as a tribute to his father and all the Districts pioneers.

Clubhouse members enjoying a moment of history and exploring the reconstruction of Steele Rudd's original home

Save the date Steele Rudd Facts

Day trip to Warwick Clubhouse Born in 1868 in Drayton Left school at age 12 An invitation from Warwick Clubhouse to Toowoomba Married Violet Christina Broowdy at Clubhouse to join in their work ordered day on the 3rd of Greenmount April. President of the Polo Anyone interested in accompanying Bernard Borserio to Association Warwick on 3rd of April should put their name on the President of Nobby State School Commitee interest sheet or speak to Bernard directly. Member of Nobby darling Downs Farmers Union First Mayor of the Shire of Camouya Wrote the series 'On Our Selection' featuring his characters Dad and Dave On Our Selection has been adapted to film, stage, and radio Rudd's works portray human resilience against nature and settler's resistance to government regulation and authority

Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AT CLUBHOUSE W R I T T E N B Y A M I E J E N N I S O N

With the care for our environment being more important now than ever, Clubhouse is willing to show what it does to help the cause. Resources such as water supplies have been low for farms in and around the neighboring towns of the Darling Downs. However far from being afraid of environmental changes, let us be caring and supportive to our world. Being from Toowoomba we call ourselves the garden city - we should work towards keeping that title.

Clubhouse renews the environment by having its very own productive gardens. Growing plants, especially trees renews the earth. Trees help us to breathe as they provide oxygen taking out toxins from our world and turning them into clean air. They will even suck up metals, as imperfections through their roots and degrade them and use them as food to grow. This process takes a long time however so it’s important to start planting as early as possible. The Clubhouse orchard includes avocado trees, mulberry tree, guava tree, passion fruit tree, bay leaf tree, lemon and lime trees, grapevines. The flowerbeds are bursting with colour, including nasturtiums, marigolds, and lavender. Aromatic herbs and spices such as chili's, chives, rosemary, mint, dill, coriander and thyme are also grown. Planting your own fruits, vegetables and herbs can do a lot for us too; as not only is it providing resources for ourselves that will continue to grow but it means less trips to shop and can be a healthier and tastier resource.

Our gardens bursting with thyme, sage and lavender. We use a sterilising dishwasher which saves on water here at clubhouse and our kitchen was built and resourced with recyclable materials that other places no longer needed. Building and creating with recyclable resources is a great way to reuse instead of creating more waste that ends up in landfill to no benefit for the earth. We have more recycle bins at clubhouse than general waste bins. We also walk anywhere that is within walking distance to get fresh air, be active and reduce our impact. We now have four of our own water tanks (see article on page 5) so we are collecting and using every drop given in the best way possible, no rainfall goes to waste. To help save energy we turn off electrical equipment at the end of the day minus the fridge, fish tank and safety lights which must remain on. We also use all our electronic items until they break. We don’t have a buy waste purchase attitude. Clubhouse has made great strides towards becoming paperless, with member records stored electronically. This keeps those resources out of landfill for longer.

We hope to inspire you at home to do what you can for our environment, we all need the resources our planet provides us and any contribution at all however small can mean a lot. Some ideas if you’re interested could be buying environmentally friendly chemicals as cleaning products as they are safer to use, as these products will be washed away into our oceans. Use recyclable toilet paper; these products won’t differ much in price but will do a lot for our environment, Walking to the local store instead of driving, Not wasting food or water; this will save you money as well as save our environment, Ensuring our pets are not harming local wildlife, putting the correct rubbish in the correct bin, not leaving our rubbish behind on a trip and giving things you don’t need anymore away to other people so they can be reused. We can’t always be perfect but everything we do counts.

Thank you clubhouse for all you do for our environment! Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 MEMBER PROFILE: DEANNE BLOOM I was attracted to Clubhouse by the idea that the environment I N T E R V I E W C O N D U C T E D B Y J U L I A N M U D G E was friendly to those with mental

What brought you to come and try Toowoomba Clubhouse? illness. Despite feelings of and did you have any hesitations about joining and how did you unease when I first turned up at overcome those?

I was attracted to Clubhouse by the idea that the environment was Clubhouse while not knowing friendly to those with mental illness. Despite feelings of unease when I what to expect, so taking a deep first turned up at Clubhouse while not knowing what to expect, so breath I thought "What do I have taking a deep breath I thought "What do I have to lose?" to lose?"

W hat are some of the activities you enjoy at Toowoomba Clubhouse? My favorite activities include writing the monthly newsletter, and attending some art classes - I am really looking forward to the ones coming up this month; these have been the main enjoyments at Clubhouse thus far.

What goals have you set with the Toowoomba Clubhouse? I want to learn how to manage my studies better, perhaps looking at what courses I can study at university.

What are some things you do in your own time to achieve these goals? I keep watching my own mental health and want to focus on managing it in the future, which is why I liked Toowoomba Clubhouse as it allows me to learn these skills.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be and why? I would choose to be an owl because I like that they fly during the night and owls are a lot wiser!

W hat's your favourite way to unwind after a busy day? After a long tense day I like to enjoy horror movies and annoying my cat to unwind.

What three words would your friends and family use to describe you? My friends would describe me as caring, creative and colourful not because I like alliteration but rather music, art, and theatre.

If you could choose a super power, what would it be? If I could have one superpower, let that be flying to make visiting my friends in other places a lot easier. My friends would describe me as caring, creative and colourful

Julian and Deanne (left) making not because I like alliteration but sure they get the perfect photo for rather music, art, and theatre. the clubhouse newsletter... also enjoying the beautiful green grass

Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 CLUBHOUSE NEWS - NEW WATER TANKS - WYLAHRA GROVE PROGRESS ASSOCIATION DONATION You might have read that here at Toowoomba Clubhouse we love doing what we can to look after the environment. We were so delighted and appreciative when a local organisation in the Darling Downs Region kindly donated some water tanks for us to use. The Wylahra Grove Progress Association in Millmerran kindly donated two water tanks to help us on our journey to be environmentally friendly when working in and around our garden.

We have many fresh herbs, fruit trees and flowers in our garden and are conscious of using rain water instead of town water to keep our garden full and green. As you can see we have spent the last few weeks getting these tanks installed with the help of our awesome members. They are now ready and looking forward to some rain to fill them up!

Thank you for your kindness Wylahra Grove Progress Association.

Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 CREATIVE CORNER: The Struggle Within My Minds B Y T I A M A R S H A L L

Give me a sign, Sing the words of innocence and broken pride. Make my conclusions fail, heal this broken melody, cause each night I die in hell…My Goddess has shown her sympathy, for all the spirits lost, I have prayed for salvation and peace for ages…Standing in the summer breeze, Inhaling life again, A new day has come…A chance to relive…

Forget and Forgive… Somehow I wasted all… They sealed my voice and wisdom, But my soul was born on the battleground. Justice in blood, long awaited victory…and tonight you die in hell… Somebody hides inside my mind, we’re bound together, this is my confession

Soulmate or enemy, A thorn in my religion, Release my heart, Unfold my tongue, save a place for me in heaven… We’ll meet another day, I found forgiveness and the meaning of it all

My fear is gone, As I have forgiven my worst enemy lying inside my mind…Forget and Forgive and I shall cross this broken bridge and Never Look Back

A R T W O R K B Y D E A N N E B L O O M Toowoomba Clubhouse www.toowoombaclubhouse.org.au 112 Russell Street, Toowoomba (07) 4632 4688 APRIL EVENTS & ACTIVITIES Following the latest Government restrictions around COVID-19 we have developed a new program which will commence from Monday 30 March. Our service will continue to evolve but for now, the focus is on providing extensive phone, email and text support to members with the addition of online programs and some face-to-face small group activities outside of Clubhouse (while observing social distancing, hygiene, group size and safety/wellbeing requirements for all.)

TOOWOOMBA CLUBHOUSE IN HOUSE SERVICES Due to the current restrictions surrounding social distancing, all of our In House Services will be providing their service in a different way. Many will now be trying to provide their services via phone appointment only.

Please talk to a staff member about getting in contact with these services at this time, and keep an eye on our services board at the Clubhouse. MONTHLY OPEN HOUSE

From left to right: Tim Entwistle (TRC Elect), Warren Midgley (TRC Elect), Heather Boyton (TCH Member), Bruce Russell (TCH President), Joy Mingay (TRC Elect), Meredith Rawlings (TCH Board), Debbie Baily (TCH CEO) , Kirsten Smolenski (TRC Elect), Tim McMahon (TRC Elect). FRONT: Deanna Brady (TCH Member) This month we were pleased to welcome some of the Toowoomba Region current Council Elects. We

enjoyed having them attend our open day and wish them the very best of luck for the future.

Connect with us!

Have you ever wanted to introduce

a friend to Clubhouse, or bring a friend or family member along to check us out?

Join us for a shared BBQ lunch and guided tours of

Clubhouse facilities at our monthly

Open House,

usually held on the first Thursday of the month.

Our next 2020 Open House date will be confirmed when government and social distancing restrictions have been eased.