Rotarians of Paterson are on a mission to lift the lid on mental illness by raising money for research.

October is mental health awareness month and Rotarians are running a national campaign titled “Lift the Lid on mental illness”.

The Paterson club will hold a Hat Day with a stall outside the Paterson Post Office to both raise money for research and raise awareness of mental illness.

 “Almost one in five Australians will experience a mental health illness every year, and nearly half the population (45%) will experience mental illness at some stage in their lives,” said Cath Varcoe from Paterson Rotary Club.

“We will have a stand out the front of the Post Office from 9am where we will be selling some merchandise to raise funds for Lift the Lid.

“We will also have some information available promoting Headspace in Maitland which provides  mental health services to young people aged 12-25.”

The club hopes to raise enough money for a new cloth for the pool table at Maitland’s Headspace.

The club will also raise funds during its dinner meetings this month to donate to both Australian Rotary Health and Headspace Maitland.

The club invited guest speakers to talk about their work in the mental health field.

Sue Jakes, a psychologist who lives and works in Martins Creek and specialises in Equine Assisted Therapy spoke to the members on October 3.

On October 31 the club will welcome Kim Polwarth, Practice Manager from Headspace in Maitland.

More information on Rotary’s initiative can be found at www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au  and www.hatday.com.au

New members to the Paterson Rotary Club are always welcome. The club meets every Wednesday night at 6.30pm for a 7pm dinner at the CBC Cafe.

“There’s usually a guest speaker and we discuss how to raise money for various issues,” said Ann Callaghan.

“It’s not all hard work, we are a friendly group and the meetings are kept casual and people can come along to dinner or hear a guest speaker with no obligation to join.”