Many thanks Bev and good afternoon Rotarians and guests on this superb first day of spring.
I’m wearing my Demons scarf today in remembrance of our wonderful friend David Frieze.
Whilst the Spring sunshine will brighten us all up, the serious mental health issues in our society impacting young and old alike is finally resonating with our government and mental health is threatening to be a much bigger concern than Covid-19 itself.
This month’s Rotary Down-Under online edition indicates 1 in 5 Australians every year experience some form of mental illness and one of the most significant barriers to improving prevention is the low priority given to mental health research.
“Lift the Lid” on mental illness has of course been a wonderful Rotary initiative.
Thursday the 9 September is “R-U-OK Day” and in my Club role as Almoner involving Member Care, I urge you to reach out to fellow Rotarians and their partners who you may not have seen during our 200+ days of lock downs.
As a start, you may consider contacting one or two members of your Rotary Group to touch base and see how they are coping.
Sunday is Father’s Day and once again we are unlikely to be able to catch up with our families. A number of our Members who continue to live in isolation would I’m sure welcome your call.
The camaraderie of Rotary Melbourne has been severely tested during the past 18-months and it is up to all of us, to take responsibility and reach out to our fellow Members, encourage them to stay involved with their Club and see if we can help them in any way.
