Celebrating National headspace Day
Wednesday 21 October marked the 2020 celebration of headspace Day, a national day of support for the mental health and wellbeing of all young Australians.
Across our headspace Centres – Adelaide, Edinburgh North and Onkaparinga, young people and staff came together virtually or in-person to celebrate the work our headspace Centres do and reflect on a challenging year of mental health obstacles in 2020.
This year’s theme was ‘take small steps every day for your mental health’ and our headspace Centres rallied behind it, hosting a range of awareness events.
Steven Wright, Youth Services Executive Manager at Sonder said the day was ultimately about promoting positive mental health and highlighting the ways people can help themselves and seek support.
This year, more so than ever, it is imperative to look after your mental and physical health. On headspace Day, we encourage young people to try out the seven steps we talk about all year round, from eating well, making sure you get enough sleep, staying connected with people, cutting back on alcohol and other drugs, and learning new ways to cope during these tough times.
headspace Edinburgh North celebrated the event by encouraging young people and their families to take time out for themselves to do something they enjoy by hosting a free movie screening of The Secret Garden at a local cinema. Young people and their families were invited to attend, scoring themselves a free choc top and goodie bag.
Community Engagement Coordinator, Shane Hough said the event was a great way for local young people to feel like they are a part of a community.
We were able to highlight the importance of taking time and space to focus on things that make you smile – whether that’s watching a movie, going for a walk or reading a book.
Over at headspace Onkaparinga, the team commemorated the event by hosting a competition encouraging young people to submit a short video about the small steps they take each day to look after their mental health. Riley and Charlie were the lucky winners, each scoring themselves a longboard and self-care pack.
Meanwhile, our headspace Adelaide team kicked off season 4 of their ‘headspace sessions’ podcast with a live, headspace day special. The podcast hosts were joined by a panel of young people who shared the small steps they take to create a healthy headspace.
Being surrounded by nature can have a profound and calming effect on a persons’ mood. With this in mind, headspace Adelaide put a collection of beautiful plants up for adoption. Each young person who visited the Centre on the day was offered the opportunity to select a plant for adoption. Each plant came with a beautifully crafted care card detailing the secrets to nurturing the plant.
Each headspace Centre also distributed a selection of ’48 Small Steps’ Starter Packs to young people accessing the service. The packs featured an array of goodies including a calendar, action plan, recipes, notepad, treats, pens, highlighters, games and a candle.
As the sun went down on another headspace Day, the Adelaide Town Hall, in collaboration with the City of Adelaide Council, was proudly lit-up in green, marking the end of the celebrations.
Got a lot going on?
If you have a lot going on and need some support, visit sonder.net.au/headspace to find a headspace Centre near you. Simply complete the appropriate online referral form to access the headspace service.
Visit headspace.org.au to access a range of factsheets and resources for young people and their families and friends.
headspace Adelaide, Edinburgh North and Onkaparinga Centres are operated by Sonder. headspace centres across the Adelaide metropolitan region are supported by funding from the Adelaide PHN through the Australian Government’s PHN program. headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.