by Cam Lucadou-Wells
Springvale pharmacist, philanthropist and former deputy mayor Richard Lim has been recognised with a national mental health award.
Lim was presented with the Mental Health Advocate of the Year trophy at the Mental Health Foundation Australia awards in October.
With a social media following of 200,000, Lim has advocated with free seminars on mental health issues and services particularly to the Cambodian-Australian community.
“For the Asian community in general, they never accepted mental health as a disease and a problem – the Cambodian community especially,” Lim says.
A refugee who survived the Pol Pot regime, Lim arrived in Australia with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
But “I never accepted it”, instead masking his affliction with a ready smile.
“I had nightmares every night, I screamed … I never sought medical advice.”
Lim now talks about social skills, emotional intelligence and learning independence as some of the building blocks.
According to MHFA chief executive Vasan Srinivasan, Lim stood out for his “ability to communicate” with the Cambodian community on mental health issues and support services.
“Richard Lim’s voice is always there in relation to mental health.
“We are honoured to have someone like him supporting and assisting the MHFA.”
A successful pharmacist, Lim is also on the medical advisory committee of MHFA, which runs $20 psychological counselling sessions at its wellness clinic in South Yarra.
The 50-minute sessions target people who can’t otherwise afford counselling.
Lim has provided professional advice for clinic patients, such as on medication side-effects.
He also helped promote MHFA’s 35 mental health support groups in Victoria, including for bipolar, OCD, PTSD and depression, to “vulnerable” people, Srinivasan said.
“We started getting many Cambodians seeking assistance and joining the support group, which makes them feel better at the end of the journey.”
Ever generous, Lim has also supported pharmacy students from overseas and Cambodian community members in need of free food and medication.
He’s also given experience to pharmacy students, and been a major philanthropists for a host of charities such as Monash Health Foundation.
