A close-up of tree leaves in a home garden, the background is blurred. The footage then cuts to a woman crouching, plucking leaves from her garden. She is surrounded by pot plants, scrubs and trees.
Angela: I was going through really bad anxiety, depression. Pretty much just locked in my room.
Angela opens the flyscreen door and walks inside her home. A montage of Angela preparing leaf tea is played over her voice.
Angela: Scared to come out. Afraid to talk to anyone. I never made contact with anybody. I felt like nobody would understand.
In a silhouette-lit room, a small amount of light peeps through the closed blinds. Angela sits down on her couch with her tea and stares at the light, away from the camera.
Angela: And then I got connected to the psych here.
Angela is sitting on a chair in a bright meeting room and is talking to someone just right of the camera.
Angela: And then eventually got connected to Tam.
Angela walks into a building and is greeted by Tam, her link worker. The pair walk into a meeting room and can be seen having a conversation.
Tam: Angela was quiet and hesitant when she first arrived.
A woman is sitting on a chair in a meeting room and is talking to someone just left of the camera.
Text appears on screen in the bottom left corner, introducing the woman on screen, it reads: “Tam Le, Link Worker”.
Tam: As her link worker, I developed a plan and invited her to join the Brimbank local. And then I also invited her to join all the Local Connections activities.
Angela is in a wide-open commercial kitchen handing out plates of food to those around her.
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”.
A montage of 12 people (including Angela) standing around a table grabbing small servings of food from different dishes, Angela cooking a dish, and everyone sitting around a dining table eating together with smiles on their faces.
Angela: Some of the groups that we did were the ‘Global Kitchen’ where we went and we did some cooking. A group of people got to cook together and eat together, and that was quite fun.
Tam is sitting on a chair in a meeting room and is talking to someone just left of the camera
Tam: She's quite active with any activities that we provide. Like always want to share her idea.
Angela walks out of the building and onto the street, followed by the same group of people from the ‘Global Kitchen’.
Angela: It makes you feel that you're not alone. That they understand what you're going through. Everybody's struggling at something, but it's just a different struggle.
Angela is leading a group discussion with other people while sitting on the grass at a local park. The footage then cuts to Angela seated at a rectangular table surrounded by people; she is once again leading a group discussion.
Tam: I'm quite happy to see her steady progress. So, a big smile all the time. She again, like, very happy to see new members turn up and support others as well.
Tam is sitting on a chair in a meeting room and is talking to someone just left of the camera.
Tam: The best thing I can tell, she's happy.
Angela is sitting on a chair in a bright meeting room and is talking to someone just right of the camera.
Angela: It's given me more hope.
The footage cuts to a close-up, which positions Angela’s face in the middle of the shot.
Angela: It’s given me more hope.
A montage of Angela smiling and laughing in varied scenarios: walking along the street with others; engaged in a group discussion; and preparing food for the ‘Global Kitchen’.
Angela: Never in a million years that I would dream I’d be sitting here talking to you about mental health and what I'm going through.
The screen goes white, text appears and reads: “To learn more about Local Connections, visit betterhealth.vic.gov.au/local-connections”. Video ends.
Updated