A Queenstown-based social enterprise has received international attention this month for its work bringing mental health education to remote and rural communities.

Anna Dorsey, Chief Executive and founder of Headlight was a speaker at the 24th International Mental Health Conference, held in the Gold Coast from the 7th to 9th June.

The Headlight team is celebrating a major milestone this month; with 50 mental health education workshops having been delivered to the Queenstown Lakes and wider Southern community to date!

Our board of trustees was delighted to welcome two new trustees this March.

Dr Marion Poore is a public health physician, based in Arrowtown, who brings with her extensive experience in the public health sector. Marion trained as a GP early in her health career, and more recently has worked as a public health specialist, both at a national level supporting the COVID response, and regionally for Southern District Health Board, in the role of Medical Officer of Health from 2004 until May 2019.

If you were at the Remarkables Market on the 15th of April, you might have seen me and a bunch of people walking around in our green Headlight T-shirts holding post-it notes. We were there talking with our community and asking them to ‘write a message of support to someone experiencing mental distress’. Maybe you saw us, maybe you wrote a message or maybe you wondered ‘what’s that all about?’

Local business owners and leaders have a chance to access valuable education this month to help them support the mental health of staff and clients.

On 29 March, a subsidised training is being delivered at Mountain Club, Queenstown, to support members and the wider business community to have a chance to upskill on all things relating to mental health and wellbeing at work.