Share some hope this December and write a Card of Kindness to a patient at a local psychiatric unit.
Many people who find themselves in a hospital during the holiday season feel lonely, and often no one knows they are there.
Would you like to make someone’s day?
YPRL is asking the community to write cards of kindness and support!
We encourage you to gather your unused greeting cards and write a friendly message for a patient in a local psychiatric hospital.
How you can help:
- Gather all your unused greeting cards. Look in Op Shops, or ask around.
- Address your card with ‘Dear friend’. Add some gentle and compassionate words of care.
- Sign your card with your first name or ‘from a friend in the community'.
- Please leave your envelopes unsealed.
- Drop your cards into a collection box at your local Yarra Plenty Regional Library branch. Our library staff will arrange for delivery to the psychiatric wards at the Austin Hospital and Northern Hospital.
Wondering what to write?
Think about when you’re feeling really down or alone — what would you like someone to say to you?
How Cards of Kindness came to be
Cards of Kindness was conceived as the “Christmas Cards for Psych Wards Project” by local artist and mental health advocate Heidi Everett. She was inspired by similar projects in the United States. Other people in Australia are supporting patients in psychiatric wards, and this local project, supported by Banyule Council’s Arts and Culture team, is for in-patients of the psychiatric wards in Austin Hospital and Northern Hospital. December was chosen because many vulnerable people feel isolated more acutely during the holiday season. The program will create a community connection for the patients because they will receive a card from a person who cares enough to write. People who choose to donate and write cards will gain the satisfaction of lifting the morale of a vulnerable person anonymously.
The cards you donate don’t have to be handmade — any card from home or an op shop will do. If you would like to try making your own greeting cards, we have books (and videos) to show show you how.
Young people who are interested in helping their community may also be interested in Words to the Wise, our program for writing letters to residents in aged care homes.
For further information about Cards of Kindness, please get in touch with Alan Thompson at 03 9497 5780 or by email: ivayprl@yprl.vic.gov.au