A community-backed and community-funded HOME

Uncle Dan is flourishing. The gifted guitarist, brilliant chess player and wonderful listener is finally who he was always supposed to be thanks to HOME in Queanbeyan, according to his niece Bronwyn.

“Uncle Danny was struggling trying to live independently in the community because of his mental illness,” Bronwyn explained.

“He was one of the first to move into HOME over ten years ago. They give him support. They give him family. I know it sounds strange because he is in assisted living, but that has given him independence. It is like I can see the real Uncle Danny.”

HOME, founded by Fr Peter Day in 2010, provides a long-term home for 20 people living with an enduring mental illness.

Each resident lives in a self-contained unit in a safe, loving and non-institutional setting. The organisation provides lunch daily, cooked by volunteers, and residents come together to enjoy a meal, conversation and friendship.

“Sometimes people with a mental illness can be only seen as that,” Bronwyn said.

“HOME gives its residents the opportunity to be themselves, separate from their illness. They give him a safe space, which means he can then contribute to the community – do activities and social stuff that he wouldn’t otherwise have the energy to do because he was putting all his energy into just functioning independently.”

Manager Anne Pratt said HOME, the first of its kind to open in Australia, was unique.

“I think for all the people living here, it provides stability,” she said.

“It provides care. It provides a home where they feel safe, and they are around people who love and care for them.”

Anne, who has been involved with HOME since it was little more than an idea, has seen countless lives changed over the years.

“People came in here really unwell, and now that there is this real stability in their life they can get out and function,” she explained.

“It is such a privilege being here with the residents and being able to walk with them through their good times and bad.”

HOME was also significant in the wider community, Bronwyn noted, as it helped reduce the stigma of mental illness.

“Fr Peter said you can judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable people, and I thought that was really powerful,” she said.

“What it does for the community is it brings us all together to provide love to our most vulnerable population. It is an outlet for good in the community. A lot of people are quite scared of mental illness because they don’t understand it. Places like HOME help people get out in the community despite having severe mental illness, and this means the community learns something from them.”

Bronwyn said HOME was successful in its work due to the staff and community.

“This is community-backed and community-funded,” she said.

“People do it out of love because they want to be there.”

The annual HOME movie fundraiser is being held this week in Queanbeyan.

“HOME wouldn’t be what it is without the Canberra and Queanbeyan communities,” Anne said.

“They saw a need, and they did something about it. This movie night is the one opportunity when the community can come together for us.”

• The HOME in Queanbeyan 2024 Movie fundraiser will be held at 6pm on Friday 17 May at the Q Theatre. Movie tickets are $80 and include drinks, hot snacks and entry. The movie screening is The Miracle Club. Tickets and more info: https://homeqbn.org