Mental health support recognised with Rotary award

Content warning: Mention of suicide

When members of Scouts NSW have questions about mental health, Wendy White might just be one of the people they turn to.

The State Commissioner for Mental Health Support’s passion and dedication to the mental health space saw her nominated for the Rotary Inspirational Women’s Award, where she won the Urban Over 30 category and the overall NSW Inspirational Woman Award last month.

While Wendy was “a bit embarrassed” about the win, she is a deserving recipient of the award for her work both inside Scouts NSW and in her professional and community life.

Finding the balance

Scouts has always had a focus on the health and wellbeing of young people. An integral part of the program is the teaching of first aid skills alongside participating in Adventurous Activities, helping youth members as young as five learn basic first aid treatments for injuries such as cuts, sprains and burns. To support this, our adult volunteers and older Scouts also learn Wilderness First Aid a part of their higher stage Bushcraft OAS skills or Guide qualifications to ensure they can provide first aid in remote settings or manage emergency situations at larger events.

In recent years, Scouts has been seeking to balance this long-term focus on physical health with supporting the mental health of both youth and adult members. Knowing that our volunteer Leaders are positioned as trusted adults within a child’s community, the establishment of Mental Health First Aid training for Leaders and other adults within Scouting ensures that those trained can identify and support members to find the help they might need.

Mental health at work

Wendy has been in the SC role for 12 months, after serving as a Mental Health First Aid trainer. She said mental health support was a space she was drawn to and has become a passion project.

“I run a bookkeeping business and in the accounting world, especially with COVID and to the businesspeople we deal with, I probably use my skills in mental health on a weekly basis,” she said.

“One of my clients is a tradie, and I must have said something to him about mental health support one day, and he called me up and said, ‘that suicide stuff you’re involved in, I have an apprentice I’m worried about, how can we help him?’. I talk about it with everyone all the time.

“I had a solicitor recently and one of his staff had found a homeless lady sleeping in her car with her dog, and he said, ‘I don’t know where to start’. I’ve gotten to know local people and local agencies and have three counsellors as clients who know they’re on my Scouts contact list. And none of them have ever said no when we reach out.”

Stepping up in Scouts

Wendy was approached to take on the SC role by Phil Crutchley, now Assistant Chief Commissioner (Program Support Leaders). He said the MHFA Project was managed by a steering committee from 2020 until mid-2023, before becoming a mainstream operational structure requiring the appointment of a SC to manage the delivery of MHFA training and continued support of the MHFA Instructor Team.

“The State Commissioner appointment required a mental health focussed and specialised volunteer who understood the program delivery aspects relating to Scouting and Mental Health First Aid Australia requirements of both the instructor training and maintenance of accreditation, along with the ongoing development of instructors and delivery of MHFA training,” he said.

“Wendy, being an accredited MHFA Instructor from the beginning, her deep understanding of supporting our members through her Member Support roles over many years, coupled with her external experience in supporting people at times of grief and her considerable understanding and detailed knowledge of Scouting made her an ideal choice to lead this team and manage the transition to what the MHFA portfolio is today.” 

What does a SC (Mental Health Support) do?

Wendy is using her role to encourage others to get the skills they need to support others having mental health challenges.

Initially her SC role involved coordinating Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses and instructors across the 10 Regions. Now, it’s growing to include getting some Teen MHFA courses for Venturer Scouts off the ground in 2025, as well as looking for more MHFA trainers within Scouts NSW to help spread the load.