What and who is infecting Merriwa?

TEN Wellbeing Superspreaders are about to be unleashed in the Merriwa community, but their identities will remain secret until next Monday.

Locals can head to the Merriwa Wellbeing Superspreader social media accounts on Monday, July 19, to find out who will be infecting their community with positive wellbeing on behalf of the Where there’s a Will Foundation.

For now, Merriwa Wellbeing Superspreaders are only known as: ‘The Legend’, ‘The Go-Getter’, ‘The Rescuer’, ‘The Flash’, ‘The Motivator’, ‘The Dynamo’, ‘The BBQ Queen’, ‘The Doer’, ‘The Champion’, and ‘The Nourisher’.

Can you guess who’s who?

Following the successful outbreak in Scone, authorities are predicting that a particularly virulent outbreak of wellbeing in Merriwa is likely to occur.

To prepare, the Merriwa community is being asked to lookout for the following symptoms:

• Greater happiness;
• Improved physical health;
• Better relationships;
• Less stress and improved coping in the workplace.

Superspreaders have proven to be infectious, with the Scone Wellbeing Superspreaders already reporting a significant improvement to their own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of their friends, families, colleagues and community groups.

The highly contagious Scone Wellbeing Superspreaders have also recruited 25 people to complete training in Mental Health First Aid, strengthening the community’s ability to support those at risk of mental ill health.

Where There’s A Will founder, Pauline Carrigan, said she hopes the Merriwa wellbeing strain will be equally successful and lead to herd immunity against mental ill health.

“The Scone Wellbeing Superspreader project demonstrated the powerful impact that small actions can have on wellbeing.  It also demonstrated the hidden power of social influence and the potential we all have to positively impact the behaviours of others,” Ms Carrigan said.

“The Merriwa Wellbeing Superspreaders are a great group of people, they are our neighbours, our workmates and our friends. And they’re all volunteering their time because they want to help the people of Merriwa thrive and flourish.  We’re looking forward to unveiling who they are,” she said.

“Merriwa is such a tight knit community and we’ve got very high hopes that a serious outbreak of wellbeing can be achieved there,” she said.

Like the Scone team, the Merriwa Wellbeing Superspreaders will work with a Wellbeing Coach for a three-month period, identifying wellbeing goals and given actions and skills to achieve them. 

The Superspreaders will also recruit friends and family to join them for training in Mental Health First Aid so they know the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and how to help those in need.

In the meantime, stay tuned to find out who the Merriwa Wellbeing Superspreaders are via their Facebook and Instagram accounts.