A Blessed Place

The new Saltwater Clinic is not only bigger and better looking following a $1.5m expansion, but it's also a very blessed building and service.

A multicultural blessing ceremony was held at the expanded Footscray clinic on 11 August. It was attended by local mental health providers, staff and those involved with the expansion, which was funded by the Department of Human Services.

The clinic, which provides specialist medical reviews for clients with serious mental health issues and their families, was blessed by a number of people representing the many faiths and cultures of those who use the service. It included a Hindu blessing of the office space by two Mercy Health psychiatrists.

Mercy Mental Health Manager Mario Blandin de Chalain opened the celebration by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the clinic is built - the Wurundjeri people. He explained how the Saltwater Clinic was named after the old European Australian name for what is now the Maribyrnong River.

"Every culture has a special place for water. It is life giving," Mario said. "Cultures and traditions are like rivers; each has its own character, its own sounds and its own well-worn paths. In the end though, all rivers join other waterways and become one. On this planet of ours, all cultures are connected through water. It is fitting then, in our multicultural community, that our clinic is named after this river."

Everyone continued to celebrate the multicultural society at the end of the formalities, by sharing a meal of European, Vietnamese and African food.