The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
12 October 2003
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‘Pray for Pope’ call not meant to alarm
Honour
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jubilee
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Compeer
reaches farther out
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Man of stature
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Fr John Andersen, parish priest on the banks of the Amazon - Baptism query, then
it was the barrel of a gun
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Spiritan
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Day
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Achieving
pregnancy
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Holiday
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Compeer reaches farther out
The St Vincent de Paul Society's Compeer program is expanding its services to Chatswood and Blacktown.
Until now, the Compeer friendship program, which helps people with mental illness to participate in community living, has had only one Sydney office - in Lewisham.
The St Vincent de Paul Society centres (retail shops) in Blacktown and Chatswood will soon open up office space for a part-time co-ordinator to start the Compeer program in those areas.
Compeer matches volunteers with people who have a mental health problem so they can enjoy, on a regular basis, activities such as picnics, going for walks, having coffee or seeing a film.
More than 60 people with mental illness are waiting to be matched with Compeer volunteers; many of them are in Blacktown, Chatswood and surrounding areas.
Compeer program manager Julie Hill says the expansion, funded by the State Council of the St Vincent de Paul Society, is designed to make the program available to more people and to attract local volunteers.
“We want to be able to tap into local resources and hope to build some strong relationships with various community groups,” she said.
It is estimated that one in five Australians experiences a serious mental health problem at some stage in their life.