News

Brooke’s Story

Brooke likes coming to Merrimu to see the friendly staff and to catch up with her friends. She goes to the McKenzie St Hub and also to the Bacchus Marsh Centre.

Brooke has big goals, she wants to live on her own and get a job. Brooke is very proud that in the past twelve months she has achieved so many milestones towards these goals.

Brooke is learning how to cook healthy meals at the Melton Hub. She enjoys cooking and enjoys the challenge of learning all the steps involved from budgeting and shopping to storing food safely.

Brooke says she finds maths easy and she likes learning about money. In the future Brooke wants to go to Christabelles and get work experience. She’s been learning about money and serving customers and would really like to work on these skills at Christabelles soon.

Brooke has also enjoyed making new friends “I like to go to Woodgrove and go for walks around the track with my friends” she says.

Brooke has been attending Merrimu since January last year and says she enjoys coming to the Hub where “the staff are really nice and they help me achieve my goals.”

This story is from our 2015 Annual Report. You can read more on our Publications page.

Marcus’ Story

Marcus says that before Merrimu he pretty much did nothing.

“I was having a go, trying to deal with my anxiety and trying to get better. I did the usual day-to-day stuff like cleaning the house,” he says.
Marcus says that working with his support worker Peter has helped him feel more confident to try new things without feeling anxious. Before he started at Merrimu one of Marcus’ goals was to travel outside of his hometown Ballan.

Since he’s been supported by Enhancing Independence, Merrimu’s 24/7 personal care, Marcus has been out a lot visiting other towns.
“I’ve been here there and everywhere pretty much. At first I found it hard but then it started to pay off slowly.”
Marcus was very happy when he was able to go to Ballarat without feeling anxious. In the past Ballarat was a place that held some painful memories.

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