Prepping for the day.
I’ve been talking about the challenge with people at work, and I’ve started asking for donations to help reach my $1000 goal and beyond.
I’ve also started putting together my list of what I’ll need for the 20 hours. There’s something slightly strange about making a packing list for an experience where I’ll be spending 20 hours in a 2m x 2m space with no phone and very limited distractions! 😂
I’m sure there will be plenty of things I think I absolutely need… only to realise I can probably live without them for 20 hours.
It’s been really encouraging seeing people take an interest, ask questions and get behind what I’m doing. Every conversation helps create a little more awareness around youth mental health, and every donation gets me closer to my goal.
So, the preparation has officially begun, fundraising, talking, planning and making lists. Prompts for my journaling.
Now I just need to work out how I’m actually going to survive those 20 hours! 😅
Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared my fundraiser, encouraged me or simply asked me about it. It genuinely means a lot.
20 Hours of Silence for Youth Mental Health.
I’m taking on the 20 Hours for 20Talk Challenge which will see me sitting in a 2×2 metre square in a warehouse, alongside 400 other participants, with no talking and no technology for 20 hours. All I’ll have are the essentials I bring with me: a chair, sleeping mat, journal, water, and food. No distractions.
This challenge is a small glimpse into the isolation and struggle that someone with mental health challenges might feel every day. I know it will be tough - physically, mentally, and emotionally - but it’s a challenge I’m taking on to stand in solidarity with those navigating these experiences.So why am I doing this?
We have all been touched in some way by the reality of mental health. It can be dark, lonely, and confronting.
Structurally, the statistics are still alarming:
- Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-44.
- Only 2% of mental health funding goes towards prevention (Mental Health Commission 2022).
I’m completing the 20 Hours for 20Talk Challenge to help turn these statistics around. Your contribution goes towards 20Talk’s relatable prevention campaigns. They are a mental health charity that makes education cool and accessible, for young people by young people. Your generous donations go towards:
- Every $120 puts a young person through a one-day Mental Health Maintenance course
- Expanding 20Talk’s online resources and 60,000+ social media community
- Running large-scale interactive mental health events'
What is Mental Health Maintenance?
Mental Health Maintence (MHM) is a free, one-day workshop designed with industry experts to help individuals better understand and engage with different areas of their wellbeing, as well as learn effective ways to monitor them. MHM is designed to support people by equippig them with the knowledge and tools to maintai their mental wellbeing before reaching crisis point. By improving mental health literacy, removing harmful stigma, and encouraging professional help-seeking, this workshop hopes to prevent people from reaching crisis in the first place. To learn more, please visit www.20talk.com.au.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for donating to the cause. Hopefully this small challenge can help change someone’s life.
If you ever need to chat, I’m always here. Love you all and thanks again!
Thank you to my Sponsors
$300
Anonymous
$55.95
Doreen
Very proud of you. I will be thinking of you.
$55.95
Robyn Buttrey
$55.95
Jess Clark
$50
Anonymous
$28.81
Leah Berger
$28.81
Michelle E
$28.81
Joyce Cope
This is from Joyce Cope. You're grandmother's sister in England
$28.81
Bri
👏❤️
$28.81
Caz Gledhill
Well done Aaliah for participating in this great cause!!
$25
Rosalyn Anderson
Well done. You'll smash it, I'm sure dx
$11.92
