So much has changed in 2020 but one thing hasn’t, the PukaUp vision, ‘to end suicide.’ It’s our why, it’s our reason for being, it’s our mission.

‍
We cannot expect to achieve different outcomes if we continue to do the same things, we have always done in the mental health space. We must think differently, be prepared to challenge the current status quo and champion a new way of tackling the issue of suicide.

‍

Awareness alone does not adequately address the problem, in fact awareness alone has the potential to cause more damage. We do not believe people have to get sick before they start to think about their wellbeing.

‍

Our focus is to help people stay healthy by equipping them with the tools, strategies, capacity and confidence that empower individuals to take charge of their mental health.

‍

The timing of Covid-19 was devastating for our team, the organisation and most importantly all of our wonderful partners and participants. We had begun delivering our wellbeing workshops and programs as well as preparing to launch a brand-new platform which our small but passionate team had worked on tirelessly for months.

‍

Just as we were building momentum, things came to a screaming halt and we had to make the difficult decision to put the majority of our business into hibernation. It was frustrating, disappointing and regrettably, we weren’t in a position to step up and support people in their time of need the way we wanted too.

‍

Our disappointment and frustration lit a fire that has burned brightly since Covid-19 impacted our mission. Out of crisis comes opportunity. We were forced to re-evaluate the way we were doing things and radically redesign the way we needed to do things so we not only survived but more importantly give ourselves the best opportunity to reach more people in more places faster.

‍

The urgency of this shift cannot be understated. Current modelling is forecasting a 25 – 50% increase in the number of suicides as a result of Covid-19. This is a frightening reality that we have a responsibility to tackle.

‍

Since our inception, we have invested all of our efforts and energy into creating safe spaces and environments that allow people to have authentic and genuine conversations about mental health and emotional wellbeing.

‍

We passionately believe in the value of these conversations but we’ve always known that simply talking about the issue doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. Enter PukaUp 2.0 Combining awareness and advocacy with clinically validated education, is a radically new way of approaching mental health and wellbeing.

‍

Giving people the opportunity to develop the conversational tools and strategies so that they can begin to look after their own wellbeing and be able to talk openly, honestly and confidently about mental health will help ignite a movement of like-minded people working towards a common goal to help end suicide.

‍

Wellbeing applies to 100% of the population. We all have mental health but for a lot of us it’s not easy to talk about wellbeing openly, in fact its difficult. But, it doesn’t have to be. Normalising mental health at scale will help to destroy stigma, eliminate discrimination and empower millions of people to step forward confidently and take ownership of their wellbeing.

‍

PukaUp 2.0 will harness the power of digital technology to create safe environments on-line for more people in more places as quickly as possible. Our content has undergone a significant makeover, underpinned by our commitment to do things differently by celebrating wellbeing.

‍

We want to challenge the old narrative, the old ways and the old way of thinking. We’re reclaiming wellbeing! Why? Because no one needs fixing, nor is anyone broken, we are good enough and worthy despite being bombarded with messages about insufficiency and comparison.

‍

It’s time for a new way, a new narrative and a new approach. It’s time to take care of our mental health and it’s time to celebrate our wellbeing.