In 2019 the Department of Health and Human Services brought together the organisations that provide mental wellbeing support in Outer Gippsland (East Gippsland and Wellington Shire). This group worked together to provide extra counselling support for people in the area impacted by the drought. During this work there were bushfires in Wellington Shire around Rosedale and Dargo, and not long afterwards the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires in East Gippsland.
In response to this, the group recognised that building resilience and promoting wellbeing were ongoing priorities for the region and formalised as ‘Connect Well East Gippsland and Wellington’ – https://www.connect-well.com.au/.
The partnership includes Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, Relationships Australia Victoria, the Royal Flying Doctors Service Victoria, Lifeline Gippsland, Omeo and District Health, Orbost Regional Health, Central Gippsland Health, and Yarram and District Health Service.
Connect Well has and continues to undertake a wide and diverse program of mental health promotion including:
Elbow Community Building has been working with the partnership since March 2020. This work has included:
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians and Owners of the lands in which we work and live on across Australia. In particular the Gunaikurnai people who are the Traditional Owners of the land where we are based and undertake most of our work. We pay our respects to Elders of the past, present and emerging. We are committed to collaboration that furthers self-determination and creates a better future for all.