Chairman Noel Trevaskis (26/11/09)
MEDIA RELEASE
26 November 2009
►DOWNLOAD High Resolution Photo Here
(right click and Save As)
Goulburn Resident and Mental Health Advocate Noel Trevaskis Elected Chairman of Australian Rotary Health
Noel Trevaskis OAM is a man on a mission.
The Goulburn resident and acclaimed mental health advocate has been elected Chairman of the Board of Australian Rotary Health, the largest independent funding body of mental illness research in Australia.
A Rotary District Governor in 2005/06 Noel has had a long association with Australian Rotary Health and he is particularly driven to champion mental illness research and education.
Over twenty years ago Noel spent five months in hospital being treated for depression. The illness took a terrible toll on both him and his family.
Noel’s mission now is to help as many people with a mental illness as he can. He has travelled Australia recounting his own experience with depression and how he has managed his recovery.
Life in rural Australia has been very tough for years. The drought has contributed to numerous cases of depression and suicide as families struggle to survive.
“It is so important to seek help yet many people struggle on without treatment, fearing the stigma attached to depression” Noel said.
“Mental illness is an illness. It’s just like any other illness and the good news is it is treatable” he emphasised.
“I want to help destigmatise this illness by bringing it into the open and giving people with depression the hope that they can recover, just as I have. That is also part of the mission of Australian Rotary Health and I am very proud to Chair this wonderful organisation”.