Mental health hub needs support to remain open
A Trafalgar couple dedicated to bettering mental health in the community has put out a plea for help to keep the Bettermentall storefront open.
For the past two years Jason and Kerry Rantall have been running Bettermentall, a mental health drop-in service in Contingent St that provides peer support, mentoring, counselling and a variety of other services, mostly free-ofcharge. But between running the centre which they call ‘The Hub,’ their own respective jobs and their seven children, the cost of keeping it open has become too much.
Without proper funding and support, the Rantalls said The Hub would be closing its doors on December 21.
“We don’t want to stop doing what we do, but we can’t keep doing it the way it is,” Jason said.
“Everybody’s struggling and we’re in the same boat, and we’re trying to help people who are struggling, but we need help.”
Jason and Kerry have a lengthy history involved in mental health services, with both being qualified mental health facilitators. Jason, who has life experiences with mental health and addiction issues, does support work for National Disability Insurance Scheme participants.
Kerry is an alcohol and other drugs counsellor as well as a root cause counsellor, a type of counselling dedicated to finding and working through the origin of certain behaviours and feelings.
Through their efforts, and the assistance of volunteers, Bettermentall currently runs a number of programs including men’s and youth groups, counselling and food relief. The Hub also has a psychologist who visits to see patients twice a month, circumnavigating some of the extreme delays people have faced at other mental health facilities.
“We want to be known as a mental health place, not a mental illness place. We never let someone go out the door without offering something,” Jason said.
“There are so many people that do just drop in to say hi and say thanks and say if it wasn’t for our doors being open a year ago they don’t know where they’d be,” Kerry added.
Since opening the Hub, both Jason and Kerry say the impact they’ve seen has been profound, particularly on the community’s view of mental health.
Kerry said when they first began, some of the stigma around mental health in the rural areas was “horrible,” but through Bettermentall’s efforts to educate the tide had turned.
“It was really good to see people come in, think about their life and realise ‘oh maybe I’ve had mental health issues before’ and learn about them,” she said.
The Rantalls also said the recently established youth group had been a highlight, where local kids are given a space to come in, feel comfortable, play games and socialise.
“The kids some in and get to know other kids that they might not have otherwise even talked to, and other kids that might be having some issues get to have a space where they feel safe,” Kerry said.
As things stand, however, the cost of keeping the storefront open has become too much. While some of the therapy services offered cost money, most of the upkeep has been coming out of the Rantalls’ pockets.
The Hub went through a similar issue when the lease was due last year, but was able to stay open thanks to COVID relief grants. Without that money the Rantalls fear this will be the last few months they will be able to keep the doors open.
Jason described the Hub’s situation as “treading water.”
“We can’t do the best work when we’re treading water. When you’re just surviving, you’re not thriving, it’s impossible to thrive,” he said.
Since putting out the call for help on social media the Rantalls said the response from the community had been “massive,” with community members setting up GoFundMe and Patreon accounts to encourage others to donate. Some locals used the recent Melbourne Marathon Festival as a chance to fundraise, running alongside Jason for Bettermentall.
And while those efforts have been incredible, the Rantalls say they’ll need something “guaranteed” to stay open.
“They’re fantastic and they keep us breathing, but there has to be security,” Jason said.
For now, Jason and Kerry said their best hopes lie with attaining sponsorships from businesses, or they may have to try and find a new location in a less ideal area. Jason said any potential sponsorship would be a two-way street, and that they had plenty to offer if businesses were to enquire.
“If a workplace comes in we can offer things like mental health first aid and their employees can come here for their own mental health challenges. So if they had a sponsorship deal, they could use Kerry and myself as mentors or counselling services as well for employees. And they get their name out there, helping mental health in the community,” he said.
Government funding has proven difficult to find, as Jason said there was a lot of talk but “not a lot happening.”
While they were in discussions with a variety of groups over potential options, they also said they were trying not to get their hopes too high.
“We love what we do, and if we won Tattslotto tomorrow the whole community would benefit forever because we wouldn’t have any issues,” Jason said.
“We just want to keep doing what we’re doing but without the stress.”
To find Bettermentall’s Patreon campaign go to www.patreon.com/bettermentall. To find their GoFundMe campaign go to www.gofundme.com/f/helping-better.