On February 22nd the staff of the three organisations that went on to form MHAPS were housed and working separately in Securities House on Gloucester Street. This building was so badly damaged in the earthquake that it has since been demolished. Since then, our staff have had three shifts of premises before arriving at our present address in Madras Street.
Change has been forced upon us all, but although we want to resist it, once accepted it can provide many opportunities. And, as Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny Cash) said, “The key to change is to let go of fear”.
In July 2011, Bipolar Support Canterbury, Anxiety Support Canterbury and Psychiatric Consumers Trust merged to form Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support Trust. These three organisations had all previously arisen from consumer led movements such as support groups before becoming more formalised into Trusts funded by the Canterbury District Health board (CDHB).
Now in Madras Street, MHAPS weaves together four strands of peer work from which clients can choose their recovery path.