Betty Kitchener AM and Prof. Tony Jorm
20 years ago while walking the dog husband and wife team Emeritus Professor Tony Jorm & Betty Kitchener had a ‘light-bulb’ moment when they realised that there was no equivalent to (for example) the St. John’s ambulance first aid program to deal with the early detection and mitigation of mental illness.
Thanks to the funding by Australian Rotary Health, Mental Health First Aid Australia was established and the rest is history. The program has now spread to 24 countries with over 900,000 Australian and over 4.0 million participants overseas. That in itself is ample testament to its phenomenal global outreach and invaluable impact. Apart from a standard course, specialised programs are also available for youth, teens, older persons and Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islanders. In 2010 Betty was awarded the Mental Health Impact Award by ARH.
ARH was founded exactly 40 years ago by PP Ian Scott of RC Mornington with the objective of funding research into SIDS. Subsequently the focus was shifted to general health and mental illness. In the next 2 years ARH will focus its attention on mental illness of children - from birth to 12 years of age. October is World Mental Health Month, and so let’s join hands to Lift the Lid on Mental Illness.
