What’s the issue?

Discrimination against people with experience of “mental illness”.

One in two New Zealanders will experience what society calls “mental illness” at some point in their life. Yet it is still thought of by much of the population as an “illness” defined by “abnormality”, rather than as a common, human experience.

Many people hear only negative things about “mental illness”, and this can lead to patronizing attitudes and behaviour toward people who have experienced it. Worse, this narrow, negative focus often leads to fear and discrimination.

What is The Big reTHink?

From 2009 – 2011, the RETHiNK Grant funded innovative strategies, projects, activities or events that encouraged people to rethink their attitudes toward “mental illness” and people who have experienced it.

• In 2009, the grant was $10,000 and shared between four projects.
• In 2010, the $15,000 available was shared between 3 projects.
• In 2011 – the $15 000 was shared between three projects.

The Big reTHiNK builds on the successes of the reTHiNK Grant with a community project that encourages members of the public to create destigmatising performance pieces and community groups around the country to produce them for their local theatres during Mental Health Awareness Week.

The best scripts will be performed at a massive gala show at a major theatre in Auckland at the end of October.

How can we get involved?

• Submit a script/performance-piece. This could be a short play, a poem, a song, a dance, a comedy routine or anything in between, as long as it shares destigmatising understandings of mental unwellness and the people who experience it.
• Sign up as an actor/performer or crew member: Every Big reTHiNK event will need a cast and crew for their area. You can sign up to take part as an actor, musician, dancer, performance poet, comedian or anything in between.
• Sign up to host a Big reTHiNK event in your town: All scripts that meet the destigmatising guidelines will be available to registered community groups and theatres to choose from. You can sign on as a community theatre or as a community group that has partnered with a community theatre.
• Suggest a Theme: The Big reTHiNK will have a theme that unites all of the events. If you have an idea for what that theme could be, let us know.

If  you would like to apply -  Contact us to make an expression of interest. Submission and sign-up forms coming soon.

Cultural and accessibility support is available on request.

If you would like to be involved in the winning projects - If you don’t want to write a script or perform yourself, but would like to volunteer to help with a Big reTHiNK event in your area, contact us at likeminds@mindandbody.co.nz for a volunteer form.

All projects and their sponsors receive extensive publicity and promotion though our media partners and affiliate networks, social media and connected events. Your support will help make these not-for-profit projects successful and sustainable.

If you can help, or are interested in supporting any of the projects with the following please contact us;

• Celebrity Endorsement Guest Performances or Appearances, Event MC’s, Project Affiliations

• Corporate Sponsorship Chartiy Donations, Event Visibility

• Donations of Prizes Products or  Services

• Venue Sponsors The venue will be asked to provide hire of the space on a night that would otherwise not be booked. In return for supporting a good cause the venue may keep 100% of bar sales or other proceeds. Please contact the Like Minds Team at Mind and Body if you can donate your venue.

• Consumers and Tangata Whaiora to be involved as individual project consultants, as well as existing service-user groups interested in being involved should contact the Like Minds team at Mind and Body for a volunteer submission form.

The Big reTHiNK aims to:

• Reduce stigma and discrimination associated with “mental illness”
• Involve creative, “outside the box” thinking
• Celebrate difference and diversity
• Value people with experience of madness and the learning associated with that experience
• Help expand the narrow ways society tends to think and speak about “mental illness”
• Explore the value of different ways of thinking or being in the world

Guidelines take into consideration:

• Relevance to “mental illness/distress” and stigma or discrimination
• Accessibility to all people of differing cultures and abilities
• Mental Health Awareness Week in October
• Reaching a wide demographic and a large number of people
• Sustainability
• Media Interest
• How their project will benefit people with an experience of “mental illness or distress”

The Big reTHiNK  seeks to critique dominant viewpoints in our society, promote other views, and encourage debate. Performance pieces may confront these issues directly or address them more subtly.

How are the scripts chosen?

The decision process runs in three rounds of short-listing which encompasses a points-based scoring system based on Like Minds, Like Mine objectives and specific destigmatisation criteria. The top scorers then go to an expert panel of 11 people to discuss the finer details and comment on each project.

The expertise of the panel covers broad industry knowledge of the following areas. The last year’s winners, Like Minds Like Mine, entertainment (writing, acting, comedy, poetry and music industries), Maori and Pacific Islander perspective, specialist men’s and women’s groups, disability accessibility, personal experience of mental illness/distress and the Media.

To reach a decision, each of the finalists are then ranked by every member of the panel, and the rankings totalled and averaged to give us a final ranking which ultimately decides our final scripts. All scripts that score over a certain threshold will be chosen for production, with the top scorers being chosen for the culminating Gala event at the end of October.

In some instances, applicants are known to members of the selection panel and so in these cases, members of the panel disclose this relationship and bow out of final decision making on these projects. When this happens, the remaining points and comments are averaged.

How successful is the campaign?

In 2010 the promotional campaign reached millions of people with the Like Minds Message in just the 4 months that the applications were open .

From February 1st to April 30, Our utilisation of web 2.0 initiatives reports that we had 7,410,495 web impressions, 1,896 visits from facebook, 3823 Website visits (including downloads) , 464 YouTube video views and 55 direct requests for application packs.

This resulted in 39 applications –   37 of them were completed successfully on time and from those, 19 incredible projects were on our shortlist which we would have loved to have funded as they included innovative service development and creative projects which would all go a long way in furthering the Like Minds, Like Mine programme.

For more information on these projects, and to lend them support please visit “Honourable Mentions”

The winning projects received extensive media coverage reaching thousands of international readers and listeners, and involved hundreds of volunteers. The RETHiNK Theatre Challenge alone had over 200 volunteers and 500 live audience members to the 4 sold out shows.

Yes, but did it change people’s attitudes to mental health?

Evaluation of participant and audience reactions to the projects was undertaken after the events prove without a doubt that attitudes to people with personal experience of mental illness were significantly changed for the better. The projects successfully de-mystified, normalised and humanised the experience causing a significant reduction in stigma and discrimination.

Who are we?

Like Minds Like Mine

Like Minds, Like Mine is a nationwide programme funded by the Ministry of Health to counter stigma and discrimination associated with “mental illness”. The ideal outcome of the Like Minds programme is a society that recognises and values people with experience of mental distress/illness. Mind and Body Consultants Ltd is a provider of this programme to the Auckland region. For more information on the Like Minds Programme, or to find your local provider visit the website.

Mind and Body Consultants

Mind and Body Consultants is a predominantly consumer-run mental health consultancy business with over a decade of innovative and high quality work in the mental health sector. We are dedicated to the development of a world in which all people can lead flourishing lives. The majority of us have personal experience of “mental illness”, and as such are committed to enlightening society’s attitudes about “mental illness”.

The Like Minds, Like Mine team coordinates multiple projects that meet the specific objectives of the national Like Minds programme. Projects include RETHiNK Madness Workshops and the Out Of  Their Minds website. For more information on the team, visit the Mind and Body Consultants Website.