April 30, 2023
Writer: Nikki Lizarondo
Researcher: Nikki Lizarondo
Graphics: Krystel Labio and Jia Moral
Moderators: Tobey Fhar Isaac Calayo
Today marks the 7th year of #MentalHealthPH. As we look back today to all the safe spaces we built, we are reminded of our humble beginnings. Since 2016, we’ve been working towards increasing awareness about mental health and empowering our ambassadors and volunteers to speak up, take care of themselves, support others, and join us as we collaborate with various sectors who are working on the same goal, such as the Department of Health, National Center of Mental Health, Psychological Association of the Philippines, and so on.
We were then known as #ThisIsOurStory, one of the health advocacy projects that emerged during the 2nd Philippine Healthcare and Social Media Summit held last April 21, 2016, at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City. Our team was small back then, composed of around ten core members who would meet up in Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to plan and build campaigns and seek partnerships to help further the advocacy. Seven years later, the plans and partnerships are now growing alongside the organization and getting stronger than ever. All the small seeds planted since 2016 are now in fruition, blooming ever more beautifully than we imagined.
Let’s take a look at all the safe spaces we built and are continuing to do so as the time evolves:
#UsapTayo
A regular tweetchat happening every zero of the month (every 10th, 20th, 30th) that aims to ZERO the suicide cases and stigma against mental health. This is our flagship program, and as of this day, we have achieved 55 million impressions on Twitter, our highest yet since May 2020.
#MHTalks
A 45-minute online show where we talk with experts and discuss different mental health topics. As of this day, we have done five episodes via live broadcast on our Facebook page with psychologists, representatives from the Department of Health, and experts on behavior change, and we have recently launched bite-sized versions on Tiktok with mental health advocates Angelique Manto and Ayn Bernos.
#VoicesOfHope
In partnership with The LoveYourself Flourish and Ms. Universe Pia Wurtzbach, Holding Space Voices of Hope is an online campaign that aims to openly discuss topics that are not often talked about, such as mental health and HIV, eating disorders, substance abuse recovery, sex work & HIV, cancel culture, etc. The episodes are uploaded on LoveYourselfTV on Youtube.
Self-care Kits
These kits came to life during #MentalHelthPH’s celebration of World Mental Health Month last October 2021. We recognized the ongoing problem Filipinos are having, where they struggle with their mental health due to isolation caused by the pandemic. With this in mind, we created self-care kits to encourage people to practice check-in behaviors and educate them about the different self-care activities they can do at their own pace. Last February, we officially launched a partnership with the Department of Health, and our kits will now be integrated into health promotion tools provided to Local Government Units through the Centers for Health Development.
Kindness Research
As part of Mental Health Week 2020, the UK Mental Health Foundation implemented a study to describe the benefits of kindness on an individual’s overall mental health and wellbeing. #MentalHealthPH designed a similar study in October of 2022, as a way to contextualize kindness. Through the kindness research, we sought to understand how Filipino adults perceived kind acts and performed kindness for each other. Watch out for the results to be released in May 2023 as part of #MentalHealthPH’s 7th anniversary.
Directory of Clinics Nationwide
A comprehensive list of Mental Health services all over the Philippines and is accessible via the mentalhealthph website.
Kapwa Chatbot
Kapwa is a menu-based Twitter chatbot, the first of its kind for NGOs in the Philippines. Part of MHPH’s growing initiatives to provide access to mental health support services in the digital space, Kapwa aims to make everyone feel supported, heard, and seen as we continue to adjust and live in the new normal.
Now in our 7th year, we are even more empowered to continue to #Crea7eSafeSpaces for Filipinos. With you rallying with us to further the advocacy and build a mentally healthy community, we are hopeful that there’s a brighter and kinder future ahead of us all. To cement this vision, here’s a message and a promise from our hearts to yours that you will always be safe with us.
