A woman s seated and using a sowing machine to make crafts on her living room couch.
Catriona: Growing up I was always on the more sort of socially outcast side. I really trust people that I know well, but anyone beyond that, my assumption is that people are going to dismiss or ridicule whatever they see. I get really lonely and feel very isolated.
A woman is seat at her dining table with her back to the camera. She is talking to someone out of view.
Text appears in the bottom left of the screen, introducing the woman, and it reads: “Catriona, Whittlesea”.
Catriona: Possibly a lot of that is more to do with, yeah, like autism as opposed to just awkwardness. But like, I really do like being around people.
My peer support worker referred me over to the Local Connections program and introduced me to Gurvinder.
Text appears on screen and reads: “Local Connections links you to activities in your community to help you build strong social connections and a sense of belonging”.
The footage cuts to another woman sitting in a small meeting room; she is speaking to someone left of the camera.
Text appears in the bottom left of the screen, introducing the woman, and it reads: “Gurvinder, Link Worker”.
Gurvinder: When I first met Catriona, my impression of her was someone who had so much to offer, but at the same time needing an extra hand. So when she first started talking about her art in our first few meetings, I could see her face light up.
A montage of Catriona continuing to make her crafts both by hand and with her machine.
Catriona: The more and more and more things that I had that I made, the more I wanted to try and put that out there. And I sort of tried to do that through like social media or Etsy, but putting it out to kind of complete strangers was really intimidating. Oddly, I actually found that I would be more comfortable doing it in person, doing it physically at like a craft market or something.
Gurvinder sent me a message saying that there was a small market happening at the Mill Park Library.
Catriona is packing up her art craft into tubs; she is preparing to talk them to local market for sale. A montage is shown of Catriona’s local store.
Catriona: We organized to arrive at the same time. She was standing next to me when we walked up to the person with the clipboard and it went really, really well.
Gurvinder: To actually witness that market day was amazing because she was really in her element, and she was sharing her story, and she received so much positive feedback from the community. So, it was really the best possible outcome.
Catriona: Everyone was really welcoming and really encouraging. I got suggestions of other markets to potentially look into to try and got some contacts and some phone numbers as well.
Catriona and Gurvinder are seating inside a small café, facing each other and having a friendly conversation.
Catriona: Having someone to support makes it so much better. It just made me realize that there is more that I can do, and that there is more support out there.
Gurvinder: She has developed faith in herself. It's just amazing. And that's what I really hope that continues forward for her.
The footage shows Catriona leaving her home with her tub of craft materials ready to showcase her art at another market stall.
Catriona: I have had several people in my social circle comment like directly and explicitly to me ‘you seem to be in a good place at the moment.’
The screen goes white, text appears and reads: “To learn more about Local Connections, visit betterhealth.vic.gov.au/local-connections”. Video ends.
Updated