Spotlight on campaign approaches

It has been a productive couple of weeks for the suicide prevention sector which has seen the launch of three insightful campaigns aimed at changing behaviour and attitudes towards suicide and mental illness.

Through collaboration, engagement and leadership a great deal can be achieved in reducing stigma, increasing help seeking and support for individuals and communities throughout Australia. As the national digital gateway that connects Australian suicide prevention services and programs to each other and the community, Life in Mind is focusing this latest news item on some of the amazing work being done across the sector.

R U OK Day Conversation Convoy is underway

As part of a national grassroots campaign aimed at supporting and reinforcing the messaging behind the annual RUOK Day on Thursday 13 September, RUOK has once again launched its annual ‘Conversation Convoy’ campaign.

The R U OK? Conversation Convoy is part of six week campaign where four vehicles are traveling 14,000 km to visit 25 communities across the nation to show Australians that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?.

The campaign includes a range of supporting collateral which break down the steps to having an ‘R U OK’ conversation as well as videos and information to help empower anyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and support those who may be struggling with life.

The convoy which will be stopping into Newcastle on Friday 7 September, 2018 at Civic Park from 8.30am until 10am is aiming to equip community members with the skills, motivation and confidence to start and navigate a conversation with anyone they might be worried about.

For more information on this campaign & RUOK Day visit: https://www.ruok.org.au/

headcoach with headspace

headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation which provides early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds recently launched a campaign targeted at supporting young men.

The national young men’s campaign ‘headcoach’ will run until mid-September and aims to help young men put strategies and activities in place to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

Tapping into attitudes of young men who often pride themselves on physical health, the headcoach initiative features seven elite athletes who will act as ambassadors, sharing honest real-life experiences, useful tips and advice about the ways they take care of their mental health.

The ambassadors will represent a number of sports codes including AFL, NRL, Rugby Union, Soccer, Cricket and Esports and will be participating in a range of local activities to show young men that mental health is just as important as physical health and that their minds need training too.

For more information visit: https://headspace.org.au/

Stigma Report Card

The National Stigma Report Card from SANE Australia was announced last week which is a new research project that will examine how Australians living with complex mental illness experience stigma and discrimination.

The report card, which will be launched in October 2018 will be the first and largest survey of its kind, looking at the experiences of stigma and discrimination for people living with complex mental illnesses.

As a flagship project of SANE’s new Anne Deveson Research Centre (ADRC) it will be launched in October and will conduct a systematic review about the experience of stigma across seven areas including general community, health and other services, education, workplace, mass media, governments and other decision makers and self-stigma.

For more information on the work and resources available via SANE Australia visit: https://www.sane.org/

If you would like to find out more about the #YouCanTalk campaign which was launched in July 2018 please visit the #YouCanTalk page.