UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide is the leading provider of housing and community based recovery and psychosocial support services for people with a mental illness in South Australia. We are proud to have been providing these services since 1996.

As of June 2006 UCWPA has 14 programs providing support to 420 consumers with varying levels of need in metropolitan Adelaide and country South Australia.

UCWPA Community Mental Health Programs always work from a strengths perspective and embrace the developing principles of the recovery model. In practice consumers can expect to be instilled with a sense of hope as they are encouraged and supported to make decisions, be responsible for managing their mental health, consider holistic health issues, develop meaningful daily routines and connect with their community.  

UCWPA Community Mental Health Programs believe in

• Focussing on people’s strengths, resilience and recovery;
• The right of a person with a mental illness to be treated with dignity and respect, to have their opinions valued and to make their own decisions;
• The right of a person with a mental illness to choose where and how they live;
• The right of a person with a mental illness to have choices when participating in employment, education and recreation; and the value of looking at someone’s life holistically, not just at the mental illness.

Partnerships

UCWPA recognises the importance of developing and maintaining partnerships so as to better resource programs and deliver quality services to consumers.  UCWPA has a partnership agreement with other South Australian UnitingCare Wesley organisations (Adelaide, Bowden and Port Pirie), and partnership arrangements with a range of Government and Non-Government health, housing and employment agencies and consumer and carer organisations.

UCWPA has three other specific mental health programs supporting over 500 consumers

• Employment Access – providing 300 consumers with supported work opportunities and assistance to gain open employment.
• Portway Housing Association Inc – providing long term housing to 200 households, with priority given to tenants with disabilities arising from mental illness. (The Housing Association is incorporated independently from UCWPA, thus providing a separation between the landlord function and psychosocial support).
• Supported Residential Facilities (Residents) Program – supporting 180 residents with multiple and complex needs to enhance their social wellbeing, health and quality of life.

Details of Programs and Overview of Models
Program Management and Structure
Community-Based Support for People with Mental Health Disabilities: What Makes a Difference? - written by Peter Bicknell
Effective Consumer Participation in Organisational Change - written by Agravaine MacLachlan & Emma Willoughby
Mental Health Links