Last week I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by a representative of an organisation called Framework. I didn’t know too much about them previously and so I thought I’d share what I learnt.
Lots of ways to be involved at Framework Trust
Framework is an organisation that delivers community-based mental health and intellectual disability services in Greater Auckland, from strategic locations within the community, and also at their offices. This means that they can meet with individuals at a location like a library or cafe - which makes sense as their focus is to help get people more involved with their community life. And we know how important it is for a person to feel like they are part of their community - for connection, learning, independence, fulfilment and of course fun!
There are a lot of reasons why someone might have stepped back from community participation - mental health issues, disabilities, recent change in circumstances, aging, lack of resources (such as financial, or a vehicle) and so on. Framework work with people to meet their goals, whether it’s education/training (helping with study options and figuring out a pathway), activity (social, sporting, hobbies), or getting more prepared and into work (CV prep, interview practice and so on). There are group activities that can be joined all over Auckland, and in some cases they will even come and collect you for these. And if your goal is to get a drivers’ licence - this is something they can help with too.
There are no specific referral criteria, their services are free - and you don’t even need to have a doctor or therapist refer you - you can refer yourself. If you do work with a health practitioner of some kind, you can ask them to refer you and they’ll get regular updates from the Framework team.
If you’re interested to find out more, you can visit their website here, or ring them on 09 523 2790 - our lovely presenter, Natalie Nand (Personal Focus programme Facilitator) said they’re very welcoming of enquiries.
Take care of each other out there, and if you can help someone take some steps back out into a life they once loved - you might be doing much more than you ever imagined.