CATHOLIC Psychiatric Pastoral Care (CPPC) has provided a unique ministry in Brisbane, caring for people with a mental health issue, for more than 30 years.
Now a new chapter in the ongoing life of this ministry has begun in the heart of the inner city.
The Centacare Mental Health Hub is now operating in Fortitude Valley in a freshly renovated building that has been home to CPPC for the last three decades.
Brisbane auxiliary Bishop Ken Howell blessed the new hub during an opening ceremony on February 24 and said it was an occasion for God’s blessing “on what will be” but also giving thanks for “what has been”.
“Lord be close to all your servants who will have the joy of receiving and providing loving support in the safety and comfort of this place, be shelter for all who work and visit here,” Bishop Howell said in prayer.
He paid tribute to the long-time service of CPPC describing it as “an extraordinary vision” begun by co-founders Janine De Maria and Fr Jim Smith in 1987, and supported by many pastoral carers.
Bishop Howell said CPPC had been “ground breaking” in training pastoral carers to support people with mental illness, through their spiritual and therapeutic ministry in hospitals, supported accommodation and through its day centre.
Over a period of decades CPPC, operating from a day centre at 58 Morgan Street, Fortitude Valley, provided meals, friendship and activities for men and women with mental health disorders.
Each of the participants are called ‘members’.
Janine De Maria, a registered mental health nurse was responsible for training carers and—with Fr Smith—supported the members who attended every week, including Mass next door in St Patrick’s Church.
“If you went to any other diocese around the country this kind of work was unheard of anywhere else,” Bishop Howell said.
Fr Smith’s CPPC ministry concluded with his retirement last November after a lengthy period of closure due to Covid 19.
Centacare executive director Peter Selwood said setting up the new hub had been “a journey” and would mean aligning Centacare “to the ministry that has been so successful for a long time”.
“And to also bring the changes that have come through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) and general way that the care of mental health is now undertaken,” Mr Selwood said.
“So it was an opportunity to make sure that we could stand on the shoulders of the giants who built this service in the first place and make sure we could adapt and be contemporary in what we do.”
Centacare Community Services will provide a whole range of NDIS recovery oriented funded activities in conjunction with Centacare Pastoral Ministries which will oversee the daily offering of pastoral and spiritual care to former and new members by CPPC by trained pastoral carers continuing in this ministry.
That has reassured long-time member, John, who attended the hub opening and said the CPPC had brought pastoral carers and members together like a family.
“It is a family, for sure. I have many friends here,” he said.
“I would say it has brought me closer to God, to see people recovering from their illness or really do their best to get on top of things.
“It has given us all an acceptance of our illness – that suffering can be part of life.”
Pastoral carer Margaret said coming to CPPC each week during the last five years said she was open-minded about the changes.
“I work with whatever change is happening,” she said.
“Hopefully the people who’ve been coming for so long will realise there’s somewhere good to come again, since we’ve been in COVID for the last 12 months. That disrupted life didn’t it?”
