Max Hatzoglou
The Sunshine community is being invited to take part in Sunshine Heights Primary School’s ‘Know Show Grow’ festival later this month.
The five-day event, in conjunction with Brimbank council, is aimed at raising awareness and normalising conversations about mental health. It begins on March 21.
Launching for the very first time with over 50 workshops, the festival hopes to create a safe and inclusive space where community, services, ideas and creativity can dance together; helping people to harvest the skills and knowledge they need to know, show and grow themselves.
The event will be free of charge and filled with different workshops, guest speakers and experiences centered on core tenets of mental health and wellbeing.
Each day will feature exciting activities run by different organisations including Headspace Sunshine, Western Bulldogs Foundation, Friends of Kororoit Creek, Beyond Blue, Social Structures Allied Health Psychology, Carers Victoria, Multicultural Youth, Money Matters plus more.
Wellbeing, community and engagement lead teacher at Sunshine Heights Primary School and festival organiser Francine Sculli says the festival would help fill a gap in supporting families in finding and utilising wellbeing services.
“We noticed last year that there was a real gap with some of our families being able to access different sorts of services around whether it was mental health, family services or even things like disability services,” Ms Sculli said.
“There is a real gap in people knowing what’s out there and then even if they know it’s out there, knowing how to actually access it and get help as they need so the idea spring boarded from there.
The school aspires to having its own wellbeing service continually open to the public in future.
“We’ve got a dream to build a wellbeing hub as a school,” she said.
“We want it to be 24-7 so people can come to the school and there is a wellbeing place that serves the community needs all in one place.”
The festival will conclude on Friday, March 25 with a block party transforming the school into a universe filled with food trucks, performances and entertainment, experiences, creativity, a makers stands and community service booths.
Details: www.knowshowgrowfestival.com/program
