‘R U OK’ asks JewishCare
Jewish Care Victoria launched its new mental health awareness campaign on R U OK? Day last week, a national day to promote action for suicide prevention, last week.
JEWISHCARE Victoria launched its new mental health awareness campaign on R U OK? Day last week, a national day to promote action for suicide prevention, last week.
The campaign, which includes a video Reach Out, Speak Out, is part of Jewish Care’s aim to combat the stigma associated with mental illness and encourage help-seeking -behaviour.
The video features four people, a rabbi, a woman whose sister committed suicide because of mental health issues, an art teacher that has panic attacks and Dr Dov Degen, who has bipolar disorder.
Degen said at the launch function last week that revealing his mental illness was exposing an intimate part of himself, but it helped him.
“This is the power of vulnerability and sharing,” he said.
“If we do not speak up about our experiences, how can we possibly hope to start a dialogue and effect change? I want to help shed light on a topic that is generally seen as taboo in society and in the Jewish community.”
He said now is the time to speak up about mental illness.
“There are countless people in the community suffering in silence. All it takes to help is to be empathic and compassionate. This can all start with three simple words: ‘Are you okay?’” he said.
Each year one in five Australians, which equates to more than 10,000 Victorian Jewish people, experience mental illness and two out of three people do not seek help.
Jewish Care CEO Bill Appleby said that mental health stigma is present right across the Australian community.
“We know that it has a particularly strong impact on culturally and linguistically diverse communities, who, generally speaking … are less likely to reach out and seek help for mental health issues,” Appleby said.
“It is for this reason that we first created our Mental Health Promotion initiative, as a way of providing culturally accessible, ethno-specific awareness activities to the Jewish community.
“We are committed to supporting the mental wellbeing of our -community.”
If you need assistance or are concerned about a loved one’s mental health call Jewish Care on (03) 8517 5999 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
JOSHUA LEVI
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