When the symptoms of her schizophrenia cloud her world, Josie DeBono can find it near impossible to muster the confidence to head down to her local shops.
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The 52-year-old, who has been battling the complex illness since she was 18, is slowly clawing back her confidence to socialise and participate more fully in society.
Mental Health Foundation ACT recovery mentor Kira Alsop said Ms DeBono's story was common, but a new group initiative launched by the service aimed to reduce levels of social isolation.
Rainbow's new Out and About group offers excursions on the third Thursday of each month to attractions around the capital.
Ms Alsop said being surrounded by familiar staff and peers experiencing similar struggles meant Rainbow was a "safe space" and the excursions aimed to keep a bit of that as members ventured out for activities.
"People that are challenged with mental illness will quite often isolate because they become symptomatic, which can be very scary for them," she said.
"This is about giving members another dimension – something different to going from home, to Rainbow and home again."
Groups from the service, which became entirely NDIS funded on July 1, have been for a picnic and the Cotter and to visit Hall since the initiative launched in May.
While Rainbow is creatively rejuvenating its people-focused programs, Ms Alsop said helping members to transfer on to NDIS had been challenging.
She said advocates for the NDIS stressed how it empowered individuals to choose services that suit them best, but in the mental health sector putting the responsibility on patients to focus, organise and co-ordinate a treatment plan was problematic.
"The difficulty is with mental illness, it's episodic. People can be quite high-functioning for a while and look really well but when they become symptomatic they sometimes can't function at all," she said.
Ms Alsop feared those in most need may find the level of paperwork confronting and fall through the gaps rather than seek out services once funded by the territory government.
Ms DeBono applied for NDIS support in December last year and six months later with plenty of help from Rainbow was looking forward to receiving her plan and funding.
"It does take a while but you have to keep at them and tell them you have been waiting for the plan," she said.
"I have to wait another four weeks for it all to come through. But soon I'll be about to get out to the gym and I think socialising and exercise at the same time will be good for my mental health."
