Pact South Otago area manager Trish Pain and Balclutha Link Centre co-ordinator Tracey Currie visited businesses on Clyde St on Tuesday with about 20 patients and members of the community to raise awareness of the health issues mental health patients in the community faced.
''We just want to get it out there,'' Ms Currie said.
Ms Pain said this year she hoped to get the up to 60 people across the Clutha district using their service ''work ready'', which would require some flexibility and innovation from employers, as well as support from Pact.
But, she said, the people using their service were ''very, very capable''.
Ms Currie said the people she works with were worth the investment.
''We need employers to get on board, we just need the community to be a little bit more open to giving them a chance,'' Ms Currie said.
''They teach us a lot and I think they are a really important part of our community - absolutely - they have been to hell and back and survived.''
Southern Rivers community mental health clinical manager Lyn Latta said it was important to raise awareness of mental health, to make people aware of the role they can play in improving their own mental health - but also to remove the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
If someone were to break their leg, most people would have a clear understanding of the types of things required for a recovery, she said. There might be surgery, there would probably be a plaster cast, and there could be up to two months of recovery.
''Mental health is exactly the same: you need to stop, you need to have some treatment, you need to have that rest and recovery,'' she said.
''Once people start to get the idea that it can work like that ... you see the lightbulbs go off. It's quite pleasurable to work with somebody when you see that happen.''
