Encouraging people to live well

Organisers of a community-led physical and mental wellbeing event at Horsham’s May Park were thrilled with support for their project.

Aimee O’callaghan, Emma Herschell and Lauren Dempsey joined forces to create ‘Live Well, Be Well’, designed to connect community members with health and wellbeing service providers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Ms O’callaghan said the trio was pleased to attract more than 200 people throughout the day.

“We hoped to get 100, so to get 200 was fantastic. There was never a stage where we didn’t have anyone there,” she said.

“We attracted a lot of families and we even had people bring their dogs down.

“A lot of people played with the frisbees we gave away in our goodie bags and the kids particularly loved the jumping castle.”

Ms O’callaghan said the event aimed to provide the community with access to service providers in a relaxed setting.

“Some people might be struggling but find it too confrontational to go to an organisation and see what help is available,” she said.

“The beauty of our event was that people could come down to the park, have a coffee, watch their kids have a go on the jumping castle and drop in and have a chat with someone from organisations such as headspace and Grampians Community Health.

“It was all about creating a relaxed environment where people could feel comfortable but still seek information and support if they wanted to.”

Representatives from MIXX FM, Country Fire Authority, Horsham Squash Club, Horsham Urban Landcare and Rupanyup’s Healthy Impulse were on hand and the day also included guest speakers and demonstrations.

“We had Kessia Brooke singing live acoustic music, Horsham Yoga’s Aaron Schultz taught people about yoga and breathing for relaxation and Horsham Calisthenics Club did plenty of demonstrations throughout the day,” Ms O’callaghan said.

“It was extremely satisfying to see so many people having such a good time together, creating community connections. It was worth the effort involved in bringing it all together.”

The trio hosted Sunday’s event as part of a Leadership Wimmera Regional Leadership Skills program, run through Wimmera Development Association.

The group will make a presentation about the event and what they have learnt throughout the nine-month program at a graduation day on October 5.