Recently I became involved in a new project with the Rockingham Writers Centre. It's called Let's Face It and it refers to the issue of mental health and how it is often swept under the rug. The project is an Act Belong Commit partner and it hopes to highlight the number of people in our society who have been affected by mental illness and show those who are continuing to struggle with their condition that they are not alone.
The first part of the project is making ceramic masks for an exhibition which will be held during Mental Health Week in October 2016. The aim is to make 200 individual masks and I believe we're on track to do this. I'm quite looking forward to making a mask during July.
The second part of the project is an anthology of stories written by people affected by mental illness. This is the project I'm more involved in as I'm mentoring the people who are writing their stories, helping them figure out what to write, how to write, what to include and how to structure it. The purpose of the anthology is to show readers what it is like to live with a mental illness and to give hope that there are things that can help.
I feel honoured to be part of this project and the women in my group are absolutely amazing. Each time we get together I learn more about mental health. The anthology will be launched during Mental Health Week and be available at the exhibition. I'll post more details about the event closer to the time.
