This Mental Health Week, we're proud to present our sixth annual short film series, Inside Our Minds. This initiative empowers young people from traditionally underrepresented communities to share their lived experiences with mental health.
In 2024, the series highlights the unique challenges faced by seven courageous young people living with disabilities. Their stories are real, vulnerable, and essential for promoting understanding, fostering open conversations and helping reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
This year, we are proud to welcome Rachael Burns as a volunteer for the project. As a passionate youth advocate in both mental health and disability spheres, Rachael drew on her lived experience to shape this year’s campaign. She is also one of the seven young voices featured in the video series.
Rachael said, “For me, sharing and speaking has many purposes. I speak publicly not only to help others struggling with mental ill health but also those caring for people experiencing mental ill health. I aim to prevent similar experiences to what I went through, increase understanding, promote compassion and human dignity, and breakdown stigmas surrounding these conditions.
“I also speak to bring justice to my own experiences and to heal the part of me that was silenced for so long. The part that was denied a voice and hidden in the shadows.”
The series was made possible with support from our key sponsor Mineral Resources (Minres). Films were produced, filmed and edited by The Periscope Crew; a remarkable organisation run by young people with disabilities.
This year, Inside Our Minds was also nominated for the prestigious Western Australian Mental Health Awards, which recognize excellence, innovation, and initiative in supporting mental health consumers, their families, and carers. We were honored to be named a runner-up for the Mental Health News Media Award, which celebrates outstanding journalism and media coverage of mental health across various platforms. This nomination underscores the impact of the campaign and the importance of amplifying young voices in mental health conversations.
The Y WA CEO Dr Tim McDonald said, “Every year when we work on a new Inside Our Minds series, we have the privilege of providing a platform for young people to share their lived mental health experiences.
“At the Y WA one of our primary goals is to assist our youth community to flourish and give them a voice so this initiative has become a crucial event in our annual calendar.”
You can watch the 2024 Inside Our Minds campaign now on our YouTube channel or live during Mental Health Week at Yagan Square, Northbridge Piazza, and Curtin University!
Watch the full series: