for the first time in my life, i encountered people with mental illnesses today. well, i not only met them, but also spent some time having a chat with them, chilling on the lawn while basking in the nice warm afternoon sun. it was an experience i must say, and if not for the fact that we were told these people were suffering from schizophrenia, i honestly wouldn’t have known. we were just talking about all random things: uni stuff, relationships, work, family. yet the knowledge of their illness instilled a little fear in me, the fear that at any moment, the guy sitting right next to me might just start getting violent and beat me up.

it’s weird, isn’t it.

so yeah, that was part of my CPP where we visited Bellden Lodge and its residents. it is a supported residence service (SRS) which “are private concerns that provide care to the frail or disabled. They must be registered with the State Government and the Department of Human Services is required to monitor hygiene, resident care plans and nutrition.” apparently the one we visited today is considered one of the SRS in better living conditions; there are worse elsewhere, which actually i would have liked to see, just for experience’s sake.

and so we brought people out shopping for clothes today, as well as visited the optometrist. afterwards talking to the supervisor-in-charge gave us a better understanding of the running of the place. i don’t know how confidential i have to keep things, so i guess i’ll just say that some things came as quite a shock. thoughts running through my mind revolve around issues such as funding and responsibility of care.

ah well. things that i can think about, but not exactly within my control to do anything about.