Three stories of recovery and healing

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When life gets messy or situations turn sour, discovering healthy ways to cope with pain and difficulty makes a significant difference to our wellbeing and independence.

Since 2021, our Partners Toward Wellbeing (PTW) program in South Australia is helping vulnerable people uncover new ways of managing life’s challenges and find healthy ways of coping. Thanks to support from our partner, Sonder and funding from Adelaide Primary Health Network, the following stories of transformation and recovery are possible:

Turning trauma into self-confidence: Louise’s recovery

The traumatic memories from a previous abusive and violent relationship continued to haunt Louise.

To silence the painful memories, Louise turned to quick fixes like cannabis. Over time, she developed a dangerous reliance on substances to cope.

When Louise heard about Partners Towards Wellbeing, she made a commitment to herself that she no longer wanted to live the way she did.

With help from her counsellor, Louise identified how domestic and family violence had impacted her self-esteem, coping mechanisms and happiness in relationships.

Through weekly counselling sessions, Louise grew in confidence.

She eventually secured a new job and no longer uses substances. Thanks to our partners, Louise is continuing her journey towards independence.

On the road to long-term change: Joe’s recovery

It started with one drink after a painful end to an intimate relationship.

As Joe turned to one alcoholic drink after another to numb the pain, his self-esteem and mental health sharply declined.

When Joe’s father referred him to our Partners Towards Wellbeing program, he didn’t know what to expect. Joe agreed to counselling sessions that offered him a much needed ‘time out’ from the negative thoughts in his mind.

Slowly, he began to open up and talk about his recent loss.

As Joe reflected on his life, he developed new goals and renewed motivation to heal.

Today, Joe continues to work towards his career goals and is taking steps towards recovery.

Finding a place to heal and call home: Diana’s recovery

Diana was in a state of crisis when she joined the Partners Towards Wellbeing program.

In her mid 60s, Diana struggled living on her own. She was in financial debt and experiencing loneliness and isolation.

Basic tasks like cleaning the house were a challenge for Diana. Instead, she spent her time drinking.

As the rubbish piles around her grew in size and smell, Diana’s personal hygiene and mental health also rapidly declined. Working with our team, Diana began exploring feelings of loneliness, unresolved grief, and a lack of self-esteem.

Over the span of a few weeks, Diana’s excessive drinking reduced, and her personal hygiene improved.

Diana identified how her mental health impacted other areas of life such as personal hygiene, decision making and confidence.

Diana is now eager to prepare for a future with new accommodation, greater social activities and maybe even a pet.

Learn more about our Partners Toward Wellbeing service.

*Names and images have been changed to protect the identity of the people we help.