MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK
Community Is What We Create Together
23 - 29 SEPTEMBER 2024
Life’s been heavy lately, right? Between the wild weather, rising costs, and the general noise of politics and polarising opinions—it’s no wonder so many of us are feeling stretched thin. But here’s something beautiful: when everything feels like it’s falling apart, our people come together.
Mental Health Awareness Week is back from Monday 23rd to Sunday 29th September 2024, and this year’s theme hits home: “Community is… what we create together.”
Community doesn’t have to be big, flashy, or formal. It’s your cuzzie who checks in. It’s the aunty who always has kai ready, no matter how broke she is. It’s the group chat that lights up when someone says, “I’m not okay.” It’s what we build in the small moments—together.
After Cyclone Gabrielle, research by the Mental Health Foundation confirmed what many of us already knew deep down: community is how we survive the hard stuff. It’s how we heal.
Connection is the ngākau of our wellbeing. It reminds us we’re not alone. That we matter. And when we feel seen, heard, and understood, it changes everything. It doesn’t just lift us—it anchors us.
This week is a reminder to lean in. Define what community means to you. Build it. Nurture it. Celebrate it.
Because in a world that often pushes us to go it alone, choosing connection is radical. And healing.
Developed by leading Maori health advocate Sir Mason Durie in 1984, Te Whare Tapa Wha is a holistic model of health that describes hauora and wellbeing as a wharenui/meeting house with four walls. These walls represent taha wairua/spiritual wellbeing, taha hinengaro/mental and emotional wellbeing, taha tinana/physical wellbeing and taha whanau/family and social wellbeing. Our connection with the whenua/land forms the foundation. When all these things are in balance, we thrive. When one or more of these is out of balance, our wellbeing is impacted. Te Whare Tapa Wha is about maintaining not just physical and mental health but also social and spiritual connections in order to promote good health. Learn more about Te Whare Tapa Wha: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/p...