Saturday, 10 Oct Mayfair Place

Glen Innes Town Centre

A community hug but in words!

From a classroom project to the streets of Aotearoa, the Tamaki community came together to celebrate, connect and share messages of hope. Let's Chalk About Mental Health brings communities all over the world together. This annual event is aimed at spreading messages of hope, support, and positivity, keeping the conversations open about mental health. A way to unite and break the stigma collectively and express in words, messages of love, comfort, and compassion to those who suffer silently. Literally, a community hug but in words!

Flipping East + We Stand Together NZ

Hosted by two phenomenal local organisations, 'Flipping East' and 'We Stand Together NZ’,

we had just over 300 people of all ages attend the Let's Chalk About Health East Auckland 2020 event. The day started cold and windy at the Glenn Innes town-centre. Everyone getting their stations set up and ready for the day ahead. As time went by, the sun came out shining down on the messages. The town-centre was filled with good hearty vibes from community members near and far. Throughout the day there was music, dance, and rap performances by local artists. There was support from the Maori wardens, a fun station for kids to be creative, delicious kai provided by local businesses 'Kauri & Co' even the famous HEART BBQ made an appearance.

Connections

The HEART Movement was able to connect and build a conversation with one question: "What does a healthy relationship look and feel like to you?" From one conversation to the other, there was no holding back on what was shared. Ren explained how the question prompted community members to open up about some relationships that had gone badly in their lives and how they got out of them or moved forward. There were conversations about family violence and how it was an eye-opener yet again about the importance of community events, and that family violence is ever present in our community. There was conversations about how there is a great need for more community events, especially for men, like Let's Chalk About Mental Health, where members of the community are able to connect, create and invite other members in the community to get involved. Over 50 HEART t-shirts were given out from our conversations with members of the community.

Despite the madness of covid-19, the event caught a wave amongst the hustle and bustle. Whether you were new to the community or lived there all your life, there was a great love felt across the town-centre.

Let’s Continue the Chalk About Mental Health

Mental Health has been shunned upon for way too long. It’s about time we normalise this conversation in our communities. What will you do about your mental health?

Here are Mele's 5 Key Takeaways from

“Let's Chalk About Mental Health”.

1. Reach out and talk about it, whether the conversation starts at home, in the workplace, with your local barber, your nail or lash technician, your neighbour or a community member. As members of the community, it’s so important that we gently bring the suicide epidemic more into the open. Let's do our part to normalise and continue the conversation around suicide and mental health in our communities, most importantly, in our own lives.

2. Take care of your body. This also means listening to your body and what nourishment it needs daily. Being kinder to yourself.

3. Surround yourself with good people. People that are healthy for your well-being and mental health.

4. Seek opportunities to learn and embrace change. Change is always good!

5. Get help when and where you need it. There are so many great resources available. Seeking help is a sign of strength — not a weakness. And it is important to remember that treatment is effective. People who get appropriate care can recover from mental illness and addiction and lead full, rewarding lives.

To anyone out there who struggles or finds it hard to talk about their mental health and well-being, know that you are not alone. It’s okay to ask for help! #ItsOKToNotBeOKAY

Melefatai Palavi

Let’s Chalk About Mental Health