11/04/2026
Hi Everyone!
Thank you for the Birthday wishes.
Today Depression Support Network Albany Inc. (DSN) turns 15 years old.
I totally forgot!! Oops!!
Anyway, after wandering around today wondering why everyone was wishing me Happy Birthday, it finally clicked.
It has taken a lot of wonderful people to get where we are now.
There would not have been a first birthday, let alone 15 birthdays without us all working together.
Thank you to all of you.
Through Peer support, we help people who are living with depression or have lost loved ones to su***de.
This involves group and individual peer support, education, socialisation, art & crafts, sharing a meal together, walking groups, gardening, visiting speakers, discussion groups and helping people who are isolated to connect with our community.
Through DSN Op Shop we sell preloved items, making enough money to keep DSN running independently, while also partnering with oranisations like Pivot Support Services and Anglicare to help people in need.
We went online during Covid and had daily support group meetings on Zoom, to make up for the fact that we couldn't meet in person.
We restarted our chat group every 40 minutes when the free time ran out so we could continue talking from our homes for hours, until Connect Groups (now AlikeWA) paid for a subscription.
We have strong connections with our community and have often worked together with other organisations and local people to help families and people in need. We even helped furnish a couple of houses which was pretty exciting.
We have a wonderful, kind, caring community in Albany and the Lower Great Southern.
People care about each other and will often go out of their way to help a stranger in need just because they can.
So, thank you to all of our volunteers and our community for working together to make a difference.
Thank you to our partners Act Belong Commit and AlikeWA (formerly Connect Groups).
Thank you to the agencies who have helped us or have worked with us to make a difference in the last 15 years Albany & Regional Volunteer Service, Anglicare WA, Pivot Support Services, Albany Community Foundation, headspace Albany, Middleton Beach Bowling and Community Club Inc. , Foodbank WA, Palmerston Albany, The City of Albany, Westpac, Bendigo Community Bank, Southern Aboriginal Corporation, AHA Great Southern, Amity Health, WA Primary Health Association, Pioneer Health, Andrew Markovs, Lotterywest, WACHS Mental Health, a number of WA Government Departments, WAAMH, Fellowship House, Albany MenShed, both Albany Rotary Clubs, Fridge and Washer City, Albany Lions Clubs, Albany Kids Central, The Amazing Tammy Flett OAM... I could go on and on and on....
To all the people who have volunteered with us over the years, none of this would have happened without all of you. We have all given up our precious time and worked for free to make a difference, to help people living with depression, to save lives.
You know who you are. I could name you all, but with my brain, I would forget someone and feel guilty forever. Know that you have made a difference. Be proud of who you are and what we have all achieved together. ♥🙂🌻
Let's hope we can make it another 15 years!!
Happy birthday Depression Support Network Albany Inc. and all who sailed with us.!!
Jo ♥🙂
