Let's support Aotearoa youth mental wellbeing
Today, Friday 7th November, is Gumboot Friday (https://www.gumbootfriday.org.nz/). This is an annual fundraising initiative from I Am Hope, when Aotearoa New Zealand puts on gumboots to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health. It’s about walking in somebody else’s muddy boots for those trudging through tough times. This initiative, which first started in April 2019, supports youth mental health by offering free, immediate counselling to those aged 5-25, who can simply text or call 1737 any time, 24 hours a day. They get to talk to (or text with) a trained counsellor, completely free of charge. To give you an idea of the impact that this initiative has had: they’ve delivered over 135,000 sessions since 2019.
As always, prevention is better than cure. Mental health support is also about creating inclusive environments, be it in our workplaces, schools and communities, where people feel safe, seen and supported. Gumboot Friday reminds us that mental health is often an EDI issue, because who gets heard, supported, or believed when they say, “I’m not okay,” often depends on the systems around them – and whether those systems are equitable.
Mental health equity means:
Let’s fundraise, of course, but let’s also fix the systems that make people need rescuing in the first place.
So today, we’re pulling on our gumboots for every person still walking through mud.
And we’re asking: What can your organisation do to make the ground a little firmer beneath their feet?
#GUMBOOTUPNZ!
