Bill's Story

My name is Bill and my journey began the day I found myself outside the front door of Sunflower House. I was feeling very low and depressed and I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I was thinking about leaving when I heard a voice asking me to come inside. I didn’t know what to do and I just stood there. Lisa came and opened the screen door and asked me to come inside and sit down. I kept looking down at the floor. She asked me to look at her when we were talking but I just kept looking at the floor because I was feeling so low. She told me that her name was Lisa. She said to go home and come back later so I could have time to think about joining the program. Over the weekend, I was thinking about what she said to me and the one thing that made me turn up to Sunflower House the next week was that she made me feel welcome.

Since that Tuesday, I have never looked back. I do have my ups and downs, I see a psychologist and I have been seeing her for about three years. The members of Sunflower House are really great people and I like being around them. One of my jobs at Sunflower House is to hose the garden and I have been doing this everyday for about two years. I also like the self-esteem group which helps me a lot. But the one thing that gave me the most enjoyment, purpose and helped build my self-esteem is when they started an art group. At first, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t paint’, but how wrong I was. I really started to enjoy my art. I found a talent I didn’t know I even had. I even started taking my art work and doing some at home. My paintings have been in an art exhibition and I have been invited to join the Wagga Art Society!! 

If there was one thing I thought I could never do, it would be speaking in public! During the opening of the art exhibition, Mary asked me to say a speech on behalf of the members of Sunflower House art group - at the Riverina Community College in Murray St. I said ‘ýes!’ This wasn’t easy. If I had been asked to do this six months ago I would not have been able to do it, but through my art, I feel that I can ‘’conquer the world’’ because when I paint it takes away all those things I don’t like to think about. It has a very calming effect on me. Since I have been painting at home, I have taken down all the old pictures I had and out up my own artwork. If Sunflower House never bought in the art group, I would never have known I have a talent for art. But I am not the only one. Everyone in the group loves painting and we talk about each others paintings and I think that is a good thing.

I can use my imagination when I paint. I see a picture in my head, what I want to do, and put it on a canvas. So, all my paintings are one off and I wouldn’t be the same person if it wasn’t for my art.