NEWS RELEASE
05 October 2016

“WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND, MT EDEN?”

No issue is too small, that’s the message a street event at an upcoming Mt Eden Village Market hopes to get across to young Mt Eden locals in the lead up to Mental Health Awareness Week.

The public installation will feature a large-scale expression board with the question, “What’s on your mind?” that locals can write an anonymous answer to and add to the expression board. The goal is to encourage people to feel OK about sharing their concerns and feelings. The result will also be a visual insight into the mental health climate of young adults from the Mt Eden area.

The project is part of the “No Issue Too Small” campaign run by local Mt Eden not-for-profit organisation, Home and Family Counselling. It seeks to raise awareness amongst young New Zealanders that their ‘everyday problems’ are just as important as deeper issues. It also aims to challenge some of the negative barriers around counselling that prevents people from seeking help for their issues.

“We hope that this event encourages young people to stop and talk to us, ask questions about counselling and realise that counselling is not something to be scared or embarrassed about,” says Shelley Anderson, Executive Director at Home and Family Counselling.

She says, “People in their 20s and 30s are often experiencing and juggling many life stressors such as their relationships, parenting, study, isolation, financial stress with paying off their mortgages and/or student loans and the increasing cost of living in Auckland. They don’t have to stress over the cost of talking to someone about these issues, which can often be a barrier. Home & Family Counselling is based right here in Mt Eden with affordable professional counselling on offer to ensure everyone can seek help if they need it”.

Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 October) takes place annually in New Zealand to educate and raise awareness about positive mental health and wellbeing.

“What’s on your mind?” street art installation will also be hosted in two other central locations around Auckland to capture the mental health issues of young students and professionals.

The installation event will be held:

Date: Saturday 8th October 2016
Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm
Location: Outside Mt Eden Village Centre
Tickets: Free Entry

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About Home and Family Counselling:
Home and Family Counselling provides an essential donation based counselling service to the Auckland community. We provide professional counselling to individuals, couples, families and groups. We are committed to providing the highest level of counselling assistance available. We have a highly experienced team of qualified counsellors - across all specialties of counselling issues.

Our services are confidential, affordable and accessible to all – including children, teenagers and adults. Founded over 120 years ago, we are an integral part of the Auckland community. We have an understanding of some of the key social issues facing Aucklanders.

http://homeandfamily.org.nz/

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