Kia ora , 

Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is less than a week away! The past couple of years have been tough and it's easy to feel disconnected from the people and places that are important to us. Whether it's reaching out to someone you have lost contact with, visiting a place that's special to you or getting outside in nature, we hope you'll join us this MHAW to reconnect with the people and places that lift you up - hei pikinga waiora. 

To help you prepare for MHAW, we've put together a handy checklist to make sure you've got everything you need to take part! 

Have you: 

• Downloaded your resources? There are posters, printable activities and a MHAW Guide for daily ideas to help you reconnect throughout the week. 
• Printed the MHAW Colouring Competition and Te Whare Tapa Whā Chatterbox for your tamariki, or our Mindful Colouring template for yourself? Get those creative juices flowing! 
• Downloaded our other handy resources for the week, such as our Zoom backgrounds, screensavers or email signatures to help you spread the word online? 
• Visited our Top 10 Reads or Helpful Resources pages for book reviews, tips and info on mental health and wellbeing? 
• Gotten inspired by the stories on our website about the importance of reconnecting for people across Aotearoa? 
• Checked out our What's On calendar, to see what MHAW events are taking place near you or submitted your own? 
• Considered doing the MHAW Instagram Challenge on social media to show us how you're taking part in the week? 

MHAW daily themes 

Below is an outline of the ways we'll be encouraging Aotearoa to reconnect throughout the week. Feel free to follow our guide, or do what works best for you! 

Stories from across Aotearoa

In the lead up to MHAW, we're sharing inspirational stories from New Zealanders and their top tips for reconnecting with the people and places that lift them up. Check out Catie's story about how she discovered a passion for poetry while going through treatment for bipolar disorder, and hear from the team behind Te Ara Tauwhirotanga, a model of care designed to better serve mental health and addictions service users and their whānau in the Te Whatu Ora Lakes district. 

For further stories, resources, daily activity ideas and more, head to our website. Be sure to tag us on social media @mhfnz, and use the hashtag #MHAWNZ so we can see how you take part in the week! 

Ngā mihi nui,

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand

Interested in fundraising for the Mental Health Foundation during MHAW? Your mahi supports our policy and advocacy work, enabling us to keep you informed and share opportunities to have your say. Get started with fundraising here. 

mentalhealth.org.nz  |  MHAW unsubscribe 

You are receiving this email because you signed up for MHAW updates from the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand | PO Box 10051 | Dominion Road | Auckland 1446 | New Zealand