login/Logout

The Friends of Valkenberg serves the patients and staff of Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital. We achieve this with the help of our 60+ volunteers. We work in conjunction with hospital staff to provide a range of services designed to bring hope and comfort to patients during their stay at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital; meeting their basic needs and helping them along the road to recovery. The work that we do enables patients to return to their families, their jobs, and their communities.

Our projects are categorized into five groups:

1. Meeting basic patient needs: Meeting the basic needs of patients upon exiting the hospital is an essential part of the recovery journey. The power of clean clothing, transport money to go home, or having essential groceries to enter home with; is not to be under-estimated.
2. Supporting patient recovery:  Recovery comes from more than just medication. Part of recovery is to rebuild lost skills that will take them back to their communities with determination to make the most of their lives. The Friends of Valkenberg supports this recovery through a variety of volunteer-led projects aimed at building self-worth, developing self-esteem and independence.
3. Facilitating patient recreation and connection to their communities: Celebrations are important. They hold significant cultural meaning for patients and staff. The loneliness of not being able to celebrate with family outside of hospital is an unfortunate side effect of hospitalization. The Friends of Valkenberg brings the joy of celebration back to patients by facilitating these celebrations within the hospital.
4. Supporting hospital staff initiatives and boosting morale: Working in a psychiatric hospital can be extremely trying. The dedicated team of staff at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital deserve all the recognition we can give them.
5. Raising awareness & destigmatizing mental illness: As much as progress has been made in understanding and treating mental illness, crippling stigma still affects those with mental health-related diagnoses or hospitalizations.

We forge relationships and collaborate with a variety of mental health organizations in South Africa. Information on our networks can be found here.