31 Oct 2024 Sometimes young people and their supporters show up to family sessions without a clear understanding of what to expect. Taking time to explain the purpose takes time away from working on the young person's goals. Our co-production* team collaborated with our Youth Advisory Committees and young animator Kaylin van Biljon to create an animation so that young people and their supporters understand the sessions and feel more prepared when walking into headspace. During the production process, Kaylin visited headspace Bentleigh and recreated our reception area and family session spaces in graphic form. She even incorporated the likeness of some of our facilitators and young people in her characters! The Bentleigh YAC were consulted several times during the process to ensure the messages were delivered in a way that appealed to young people. The Syndal YAC members participated in recording the voice-over. And family peer specialist Shaun Rigney produced the backing track, audio and sound design. Do you speak another language at home? You can access subtitles in our top five community languages - Greek, Russian, Mandarin, Sinhalese and Cantonese. You can watch the family sessions introduction video here [https://youtu.be/Z4MGVP2flNQ]

6 Aug 2024

15 May 2024 The Push-Up Challenge is Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event pushing for better mental health for all Australians. Participants take on the challenge of doing 3,249 push-ups over 24 days in June - representative of the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2022. The event focuses on reducing the stigma around mental illness and participants can also fundraise to support one of three beneficiaries – headspace, Lifeline or The Push for Better Foundation. Registration is free and fundraising is optional. headspace Syndal is raising funds to support projects such as art groups for young people. headspace Accredited Exercise Physiologist Mary Van Dyk says if you don’t think you can manage all the push-ups, you can elect to halve your target. “It’s about doing what you can and helping raise awareness, more than anything,” she says. Mary has also compiled a range of alternative exercises so everyone can take part. “I’ve put together some ideas for different exercises for different ability levels. It could be something as simple as star jumps, planks, lunges or whatever you can manage. “Exercise is such an important part of our lives, and it's easy to make it a part of your daily routine in some way.” Mary suggests mixing it up to keep the challenge fun and achievable. For example: 10 x push-ups (floor, desk, wall) 10 x squats 10 x good mornings 10 x high knee marches 10 x reverse lunge 10 x push-ups 10 x star jumps / taps 10 x mountain climbers 10 x Russian twists / sit-ups 10 x hops 8 x wall sits (8 seconds) You can go solo, team up and push together, or simply donate to support young people in our area: https://www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/beneficiary/headspace-Syndal

15 May 2024