Jack Allpike

Jack is taking on the 20-hour challenge to support youth mental health and raise awareness about the importance of prevention.

Mental Health means more than just awareness, but it's a start - which is why I'm spending 20 hours in silence with just my thoughts.

Hi, I'm Jack.

Throughout my life, mental health has been a large continuous factor that has affected everything about who I am as a person, both good and bad.

From being diagnosed with ASD at 14, and ADHD at 16, it's been a monumental journey to get to where I am today and I couldn't have done it without the mental health support I received over the years.

But unfortunately, mental health support is far from where it needs to be. That's why I am trying to raise money to normalise conversations around mental health, and give young people the support and tools that we need to thrive.

In order to raise funds for mental health charity 20Talk, I'm going to take on the challenge of sitting in a 2 metre square box for 20 hours with no technology and no talking. If you know me, you'll know that my brain doesn't stop and that this will be a significant challenge for me. All I will have is my own thoughts, a journal and a chair to sit on.

We have all been touched in some way or another by the reality of mental health. It can be dark, lonely, and confronting.

Structurally, the statistics are still alarming..

Suicide still 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)

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 $300 puts a young person through a two-day Mental Health First Aid course
Expanding 20Talk's online resources and 60,000+ social media community
Running large-scale interactive mental health events

By improving mental health literacy, removing harmful stigma, and encouraging professional help-seeking we are preventing people from getting people into crisis in the first place.

This cause means a lot to me, especially after an especially rocky start to 2025. I really hope that what I'm doing will make a change, and someone's life will be better off because of it.

Thank you so much for reading and donating - and if any of you need someone to chat with, please feel free to reach out!