Ambience Cafe was festooned in balloons on Monday, April 3, to celebrate its Rainbow Mental Health Charity Day and raise money for mental health awareness and care in the Cobram community.
For Ambience Cafe owner Renee Lincoln, the issue of mental health was a deeply personal one as her son suffered from anxiety due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“It was very stressful. There were two times that we needed to take him to emergency because he didn’t want to be here any more,” she said.
With her son suffering from mental health problems, Mrs Lincoln was spurred to action and her son’s birthday seemed the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of what many consider a silent epidemic in Australia.
“With mental health in the family and the milestone of his birthday and he got through it, I thought I’d do a fundraiser,” Mrs Lincoln said.
Mrs Lincoln said despite the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic being behind us, she noticed stress and anxiety was still prevalent among the Cobram community due to, among other things, the cost of living crisis and the general sense of uncertainty.
“There is not enough services for everyone and they suffer in silence,” she said.
A total of $887 was raised by the cafe and Mrs Lincoln said she planned to use the money to pay for people suffering from mental health issues to attend courses.
Mrs Lincoln said the three courses would respectively focus on adolescents, adolescents and young adults and the elderly who are dealing with depression due to loss of loved ones.
As for any future fundraiser, Mrs Lincoln said she was contemplating doing one to raise money and awareness for dementia.
The Courier team thanks Mrs Lincoln and the Ambience Cafe staff for their work in raising awareness regarding mental health.
If you or someone you know is struggling, please contact Lifeline on 131 114.