Renae Flegg

I'm fundraising for adolescent mental health

Lately, I’ve been noticing mental health challenges everywhere I look. In people I care about, in my community, and especially in young people. It’s confronting, and it’s made me realise I need to step outside my comfort zone and reconnect with what actually matters.

I have two teenage daughters, and it’s impossible to ignore how much this generation is struggling, in so many different ways. We can do better. I want to do better. This is my way of trying to do my part.

To raise funds for the mental health charity 20Talk, I’m taking on the challenge of sitting in a two metre square box for 20 hours. No technology. No talking. Just my thoughts, a journal, and a chair.

This challenge is not meant to compare experiences, but to offer a small glimpse into the isolation, discomfort, and mental noise that many people live with every day when they are struggling with their mental health.

So why am I doing this?

Because mental health touches all of us in one way or another. It can be dark, lonely, and deeply confronting. And while awareness has grown, the reality is that the statistics are still alarming.

Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 44.
Only 2 percent of mental health funding is directed towards prevention, according to the Mental Health Commission.

I’m completing 20 Hours for 20Talk to help change these numbers.

20Talk is a mental health charity focused on prevention through education. They create relatable, accessible campaigns for young people, by young people, meeting them where they are.

Donations support:

Every $120 helping a young person complete a one day Mental Health Maintenance course
The expansion of 20Talk’s online resources and their community of over 60,000 young people
Large scale, interactive mental health events that start real conversations

By improving mental health literacy, reducing harmful stigma, and encouraging early help seeking, we can prevent people from reaching crisis in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for supporting this cause. I hope this small challenge helps make a real difference in someone’s life.

And if you ever need to talk, I’m always here.

Thank you again.