The M8D8 campaign has been selected as a finalist at the 2024 WA Mental Health Awards, in recognition of the positive impact it’s had in promoting mental health awareness for young men.
Developed by Youth Focus and proudly supported by Alcoa, the M8D8 campaign is designed to help tackle the isolation of young men experiencing psychological distress and mental health challenges, where support is limited in the Peel and South West regions of Western Australia.
M8D8 encourages young men to show up for each other during tough times, and lean into friendship to take care of each other’s mental health. It aims to promote and support conversations about mental health among young men.
M8D8 also helps to reduce the stigma young men often face in reaching out for support with mental health challenges. Not only are they less likely to access mental health services, tragically young men are significantly over-represented in deaths by suicide.
In 2023, 50 young people died by suicide in WA, 64% of whom were young men. The need to support young men is particularly acute in the Peel region, which has a higher rate of youth suicide than the national average, and over a third of the young people who access Youth Focus services in the Peel region have complex mental health needs.
The 2023 M8D8 campaign was co-designed by a group of young men, and was led by Mark Barrett-Lennard, Youth Focus Regional Manager for Peel and the South West.
“Many young men in the Peel and South West regions are struggling with loneliness and isolation, which is often compounded by remoteness from the services they need to support them,” Mark said. “M8D8 is such an important campaign, because it encourages mates to look out for each other and maintain their connections.”
Corporate Affairs Director Jodie Read said Alcoa was proud to work alongside Youth Focus on such an important initiative and to have some of the company’s apprentices feature in the campaign.
“As one of the largest employers in the Peel region, we know it’s important to support and highlight mental health issues among our employees,” Ms Read said.
“Featuring our apprentices in the campaign has helped amplify its visibility and the conversations M8D8 is designed to initiate.”
The campaign made a positive impact across the region, having reached over 48,000 people in the Peel and South West, and sparked over 35,000 engagements.
The campaign was also shared in schools, community groups and sporting clubs across the region, as well as within local employers including Alcoa.
Visit the M8D8 website to learn more or follow M8D8 on Instagram to stay updated on the campaign.