Hope Springs is a small non-profit organisation under the auspice of the Uniting Church. The programs are aimed at enhancing the quality of life for people who live with mental illness.

The groups include a women’s group, art, music, drop-in, worship group and Springboard (outings). These run over four days per week (mon,wed,thur,fri) and are supported by a large network of volunteers.

The women’s group, What Women Want, operates Wednesdays 10.30am-12.30pm and is a small group where the activities are driven by what the participants want to do.

At the beginning of each term the group meets for a brainstorming session. During these sessions we plan the next term flyer with all the different activities and the dates that we will do them. For example, we have done: scrapbooking, jewellery making, cooking, baking, op-shopping, plant potting, card/dice games just to mention a few. Craft is very popular but we need ladies who are able to teach someone in the group.

There is great flexibility around dates for activities as these are usually planned around volunteer’s availability. In addition, the women often want to continue doing a craft for a few weeks or come back to it in the next term, allowing them to further their skills when there interest piques.

There are usually between 6-12 ladies in the group and this relatively small number allows us to have meaningful conversations over our activities and, more often than not, a good laugh! Morning tea is always provided and when we cook, lunch may be on offer too. We are looking for ladies to share their skills (urgently in knitting, crocheting and sewing) with us who could spare a couple of hours on a Wednesday morning.

Upcoming craft groups: 27/05/2015 (Knitting & Crocheting) & 10/06/2015 (Sewing)