Aucklanders Step Up for Social Change
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RETHiNK: It’s Time for Auckland to Step Up for Social Change
The RETHiNK Grant has $15 000 to give away to innovative projects that will help Aucklanders better understand and accept people with experience of mental-health problems. The Grant is all part of the national Like Minds, Like Mine campaign to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with ‘mental illness’. Many people are familiar with the John Kirwan ads on TV, but, as the RETHiNK Grant shows, the Like Minds project is a whole lot more than a series of television advertisements.
The 2011 RETHiNK Grant campaign asks Aucklanders to ‘Step Up’ and be part of positive social change. Mental disorder affects almost half of the New Zealand population in their life-times, so pretty much all of us will have a friend, colleague or whanau member who is faced with the challenges it presents. Stigma and discrimination are the largest barriers to recovery, preventing people from speaking about it or accessing treatment and support. The RETHiNK Grant creates real opportunities for people to use their own talents and passions to contribute to breaking down these barriers.
Applications for the 2011 RETHiNK Grant open on February the 1st 2011 and close on April 30th.
Mental Health Promoter and poet, Miriam Barr, says “this is an exciting way for creative Aucklanders to use their talents to make a difference and access funding to get their projects off the ground.”
This time around, there is more than one way for people to get involved and help to spread the RETHiNK message.
Festival-goers at the 2011 Big Day Out and Splore City events can enter the RETHiNK Photo competition to win double-passes to three of our top music and arts festivals; The Big Day Out 2012, Splore Beach 2012 and Jambalaya in March. All they have to do is to find the RETHiNK display at Big Day Out and Splore City 2011, snap a photo of themselves with the RETHiNK Step Up image, post the picture to the RETHiNK Facebook page and tag themselves in it. Facebook users who ‘like’ photos and share the links will help to spread the message even further. The three photo’s with the most ‘likes’ on February 23rd win.
Last year’s RETHiNK Grant winners produced the International RETHiNK Theatre Challenge, the RETHiNK Ethosphere T-shirt design competition and the RETHiNK What’s On Your Plate community art project. Previous recipients have included C Stand-up comedy show, poetry anthologies and calendar projects. The Like Minds team at Mind and Body Consultants is now on the hunt for more winning projects from all areas of Auckland that will promote community participation and understanding.
Senior Operations Manager at Mind and Body Consultants, Rodger Jack says “we are proud to provide a grant allowing members of the community to be part of leading social change.”