Townsville to turn purple to support World Mental Health Week
Date published: 8 October 2020
Townsville’s landmarks will turn purple next week in support of World Mental Health Week.
It comes as Townsville City Council commits to continuing support of the Mentally Healthy City Project by placing decals on select Council vehicles and taking a workplace pledge.
Mayor Jenny Hill said Council would be the first workplace in Townsville to take the pledge.
“In addition to turning our major landmarks purple next week, Council is also taking the workplace pledge because we know that mentally healthy employees are vital to the success of the organisation,” Cr Hill said.
“It’s fitting that as one of the largest employers in the city, we lead the charge in raising awareness about mental well-being in the workplace.
“We’re also joining the Queensland Police Service in placing decals on some of our fleet vehicles and community-facing buildings to raise awareness wherever we can.”
Mentally Healthy City Townsville Project Manager Brendon Marty expressed his gratitude and appreciation of Council’s effort in this area.
“Townsville Council has been instrumental from day 1 in our ability to reach the Townsville Community in a range of scenarios,” Mr Marty said.
“Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to co-host the first Mental Health and Wellness Expo in the Palmetum Gardens last year, and now increasing our reach into the workplace is just fantastic.”
Cr Hill said the concept of being a Mentally Healthy City was relatively simple and stemmed from treating the issue as one that requires support from the community, and to normalise conversations about mental health.
“The Tropical Brain and Mind Foundation identified Townsville to be Australia’s first Mentally Healthy City, following the lead from cities such as Philadelphia and London,” Cr Hill said.
“We know that our community has a suicide rate 2.5 times higher than the national average. It’s important that we treat mental health as a comprehensive issue and educate and empower our residents.”
