Supporting Women’s Mental Health this September

Women’s mental health fundraiser, Liptember, has launched its 2018 campaign, supporting six key beneficiaries by raising funds for research and support programs throughout the month of September.

Now in its eighth year, the national campaign encourages women to ‘kiss away the blues’ by wearing brightly-coloured Liptember lipsticks, sold through exclusive retailer and major charity partner Chemist Warehouse. Liptember Founder, Luke Morris says, “Through the funds raised during last year’s campaign, we were able to bring on additional beneficiaries and assist them to support more Australian women who might be experiencing mental health issues. This year, we hope to raise even more funds to support even more people.”

This year, Liptember will continue to support and donate funds to The Centre for Women’s Mental Health and Lifeline in addition to Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, R U OK?, The Pretty Foundation and Batyr who came on board as beneficiaries in 2017.

It has been found that 1 in 3 women will experience anxiety during their lifetime, and 1 in 5 women in Australia will experience depression. Women are faced with different life challenges to men which can be key drivers in deteriorating mental health which include but are not limited to: adolescence and hormonal changes, pregnancy and early parenting and adaptation to menopause and ageing.

With these statistics and potential challenges in mind, Liptember recognises that the way men and women need to be treated for mental health issues is very different. “More focus needs to be placed on treating men and women separately when it comes to depression and anxiety, with women statistically much more susceptible to these conditions. Throughout a woman’s life, she will go through more changes than your average male and needs to be supported  accordingly”, said Luke.

With the support of major charity partner, Chemist Warehouse, Liptember will continue to support its beneficiaries including:

The Centre for Women’s Mental Health – Providing expert clinical and therapeutic services for women whilst conducting research and providing education and training facilities. Funds received will enable the development of a women’s health centre providing support for women who need emergency assistance. In 2017, Liptember funded the refurbishment of a mental health centre for women to visit and be supported by Liptember’s postnatal and domestic violence programs developed through previous years funding.

Lifeline – Lifeline Australia is a national charity providing all Australians with access to 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. With thousands of volunteers across Australia, individuals are supported in a range of ways to deliver services, raise funds, run events and work in Lifeline shops. Liptember provided continued support for Lifeline’s online crisis chat service around Australia, which provides online crisis counselling from 7pm – 4am every night.

Jean Hailes for Women’s Health – Striving to improve the knowledge of women’s health throughout various stages of their lives. The funds donated by Liptember enabled a world first national research study into the challenges of mental health for older women.

R U OK? – Dedicated to encouraging all Australians to connect and have regular and meaningful conversations with anyone struggling with life. As the principal partner of R U OK? in 2017, Liptember started 9.5 million conversations with women in Australia, providing guidance on how to have a meaningful conversation with someone who is struggling.

The Pretty Foundation – Committed to empowering women and girls with the perspective, skills and support to develop and nurture a positive body image for themselves and others. In 2017, Liptember funded the development of Charlie’s Tales, a children’s book series aimed at educating young girls around self confidence and positive body image.

Batyr – Providing preventative education in the area of youth mental health. Liptember funded the delivery of the batyr@school program into female secondary schools across the country, educating 10,500 of the next generation on the importance of mental health and providing services and resources around mental health. Two facilitator training workshops were also funded in addition to the training of additional female speakers for the batyr@school program.

Getting involved in Liptember is easy! Simply register online at www.liptember.com.au register and seek donations from family, friends and co-workers for wearing official Liptember lipstick during the month of September to help start the conversation and raise much needed funds for women’s mental health.
Official Liptember lipsticks are available at all Chemist Warehouse, My Chemist and My Beauty Spot stores nation-wide for as little as $4.99.

For more information, visit www.liptember.com.au Anyone seeking help should contact Lifeline on 13 11 44 or visit www.lifeline.org.au