Tauranga Men's Mental Wellness Forum

From Awareness to Action is a half-day forum bringing together lived experience, clinical expertise and practical community insight to explore some of the less obvious factors affecting men’s mental health, and what we can actually do about them. Men’s mental health affects individuals, families, workplaces and communities. This forum is about bringing people together to talk openly, listen without judgement and turn awareness into action. This is not an academic conference, and it is not a day of being talked at about depression and anxiety. Instead, we’ve deliberately created a varied and thought-provoking programme looking at men’s mental health from several very different angles. Who is it for? Everyone who cares about men’s mental health. You might be a man who wants to understand yourself or the men around you better. You might be a partner, parent, friend, colleague or employer. You might work in health, mental health, community services or education. You do not need any professional knowledge or personal experience of mental illness to benefit from the day. Men are at the centre of the conversation, but women are very warmly welcomed too. The men who struggle are our partners, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, colleagues and teammates, and improving men’s mental health requires all of us. Or, put another way: For the bloke who is struggling. For the mate who has noticed. For the partner who is worried. For anyone who wants to understand more. Why come? Because awareness on its own is not enough. We want people to leave with a better understanding of why men struggle, what may be happening beneath the surface, what signs we might be missing, and what practical things we can do earlier, before difficulties become crises. Expect honest conversations, different perspectives, practical insights, plenty of humanity and the opportunity to ask questions of people working with these issues from very different angles. You don’t have to know exactly what to say. Sometimes the most important thing is simply starting the conversation. Bring a mate. Bring your partner. Bring someone who cares about the men in their life.