International eMental Health Conference puts headlight in the spotlight

The headlight approach to empowering communities to support their mental health and wellbeing was in the global spotlight at an international e-Mental health conference recently. Anna Dorsey, Chief Executive of headlight was invited to deliver a presentation to the delegates of the eMental Health International Congress 2022 in Auckland (9 - 10 November) and join other local and overseas-based CEOs and thought leaders in mental health to share learnings that could help improve mental health and wellbeing on a global scale.

The GoodYarn Community Programme being delivered by headlight was profiled as an example of an innovative model for increasing mental health and wellbeing within rural and remote communities. In her presentation Anna was able to highlight the equity-based approach that the project team took in designing the community focused pilot which has proven to be effective in increasing mental health literacy in hard to reach and ethnically diverse populations.

According to Anna, the GoodYarn community project secured particular attention from culturally-focused organisations and international delegates because of its proven success in engaging migrant audiences.

 “One of the issues that was highlighted at the conference was the challenge that many national programmes face in effectively engaging with linguistically and culturally diverse populations. Therefore, it was so valuable to share details of our approach with delegates, many of whom have reached out since to learn more about our community empowerment model and how in particular we are supporting migrants to engage with mental health education.”

The positive response to headlight’s unique project approach has really fueled their desire to keep on leading the way in this area, explains Anna, “It has been great to hear such positive feedback from other providers working in mental health nationally and globally and to understand the real potential we have for collaborating and sharing our learnings for the benefit of all our communities.”

Photo: L to r: Jamie Shirlaw, Heart Foundation, Dick Downing, Ember Innovations, Anna Dorsey, CE headlight, Hannah Morgan, Ember Innovations.