Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday, 17 September, the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, and his wife, Margie, joined my husband and me at the Mission Cafe in Prahran to discuss the innovative ways the Prahran Mission is helping people who have experienced long-term unemployment and are living with a mental illness or homelessness, get back into training and employment. The Mission Cafe, Mission Catering and Mission Shop are three of the very successful social enterprises that have been established by the Prahran Mission in partnership with their corporate supporters. All three create pathways back into training and employment for people who have experienced mental illness and/or homelessness.

We had breakfast with the CEO, Quinn Pawson, who introduced the corporate partners at Amcor, Chris Clark, and Cecelia Ho at the National Australia Bank. We also spoke with Stephen and Codie, two participants who have gone through the program, and the impact on their lives has been absolutely transforming. Codie in particular talked about the fact that he has now been symptom-free for four years with the care and support that he received from Prahran Mission. Given the skills and opportunity provided by Prahran Mission, he is now in full-time employment. More than that, he is somebody who has taken on a leadership role at Prahran Mission, volunteering his time on a Friday morning to help others in need.

Around 20 per cent of Australians suffer from mental illness at some point in their life, and almost all Australians are affected either directly or indirectly in some capacity. (Time expired)