Did you catch our “Uncovering & Empowering Hidden Heroes” campaign?
For the whole of November 2022, also known as the National Caregiver Month, the campaign sought to raise awareness on the significant role of mental health caregivers – our hidden heroes - while challenging stereotypes and driving help-seeking behaviour.
A study conducted by Milieu Insight on behalf of CAL revealed a surprising insight - that 1 out of every 4 people is caring for someone with a mental health condition. Among primary caregivers surveyed, 51% reported feeling stressed ‘often or all the time’.
Our CEO Tim Lee said, “There are many caregivers in our midst who don’t see themselves as being caregivers, and this prevents them from seeking help and support. By presenting relatable stories and posing the question, “Are You A Caregiver?”, we hope people will start thinking about how they may be caring for someone in their family, social or work circle who has a mental health concern or dementia, and drive them to seek resources that can help ease their journey.”
With CAL taking the lead, 11 like-minded organisations joined the collective effort to advocate for caregivers. These are:
Care Corner Singapore,
Club HEAL, Institute of Mental Health (IMH),
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS),
Milieu Insight,
Singapore Anglican Community Services,
Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH),
Mental Health Film Festival Singapore,
In addition to the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Singapore) as corporate sponsor, and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and AMKFSC Community Services (AMKFSC) as supporting partners.
You may have spotted the themed MRT train on the Northeast Line that featured campaign messages. Combined with eye-catching and cheerful visuals designed by local consultancy The Press Room, members of the public were prompted to rethink the concept of a caregiver - and if they could themselves be one.
We were fortunate to have President Halimah Yacob grace the launch event at HarbourFront MRT. Besides viewing the train visuals and meeting representatives for our partner organisations, she spent time speaking with caregivers and learning about their experiences.
A big THANK YOU to the caregivers who generously shared their stories and our partners who joined hands with us for this meaningful campaign.
Visit the campaign website for useful caregiver resources and to find out if you could be a caregiver! https://www.cal.org.sg/hiddenheroes
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