SPUR:PROJECTS is the multi-award-winning, charitable arm of SPUR: where we design our own passion projects and campaigns to change the world.
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:PROJECTS contributes to a world that is fair, sustainable, and well by focusing on mental health - as it positively impacts myriad other areas.
800,000
people suicide around the world each year.
We can change this.
Our campaigns and initiatives aim to do two things:
1/ To foster positive behaviours and actions that improve mental health.
2/ To remove social and communicative barriers that contribute to poor mental health.
In short, our projects aim to make it an easier option for people to take action than to suicide .
If you or someone else is in need of mental health support services, we've compiled the world's largest list of mental health resources.
Regardless of the project or campaign, there are some core principles which underpin every campaign we create:
Everything we do must result in measurable behavioural change. After all, if you can't measure if you're having impact, then what's the point?
You know the old addage: Prevention is better than a cure. All our projects are aimed at solution design rather than problem fixing.
Different demographics and sub-demographics require different approaches. To create effective change, subtlety must be considered.
Our projects result in people taking action. We're not content with people being aware, yet idle. We want to create a world of advocates.
Don't think of a pink elephant. Language is powerful, and deep consideration of it and its use is paramount.
Humans are social creatures that are shaped by the communities around them. Leveraging groups is more powerful than leveraging individuals.
Mental Health Never Gets Old
Men aged 80+ suicide at a rate higher than any other age group in Australia, and 100,000 Australians are committed to changing that.
#OLDMATE encourages the public to sign the online pledge to spend at least one hour per month with an "Old Mate" in their life, with the aim of creating over 1.2 million volunteer hours over the next year to improve mental health.
Key contributing factors to poor mental health in the elderly are living with illness, isolation, and loss of independence, yet as a community, we can all help increase connection, skilling and the mental wellbeing of our elderly relatives, friends and neighbours.
Decriminalising homosexuality worldwide
We believe no one should ever be imprisoned or murdered because of who they are or who they love.
123+ represents the spirit of the 123 countries that have fully decriminalised homosexuality. However, another 72 countries still criminalise it to some degree - from non-enforced punishment, through to the death penalty. These laws directly impact at least 87 million LGBT+ people around the world.
The LGBT+ community experiences poor mental health and suicide at extremely high rates - and exclusion under law can be a key contributing factor.
123+'s aim is for every country, by 2030, to have the bespoke knowledge, resources, and skills they need to decriminalise homosexuality.
Art therapy to improve the mental health of refugees
Today, there are more than 65 million refugees and displaced people around the world. This number is expected to swell to 250 million by 2050. These are people displaced by conflict and violence, natural disasters and turmoil.
More than half of these millions will struggle with post traumatic stress and mental illnesses due due to the stressors of violence, loss and uncertainty. Those that find a place in refugee camps will, on average, experience a thirteen-year wait in isolation before being accepted into a new community, usually on foreign soil.
Afterain aims to change that using art therapy.
The World's Largest Real-Time, Mental Health Survey
Last October, 10,144 people from 104 countries logged how they were feeling over seven days, creating the largest open-source database of emotions with over 56,992 submissions.
The data collected by the free app allows an individual, organisation or government to create more effective mental health initiatives. With over 800,000 people suiciding around the world each year, more effective projects are desperately needed.
The project acted as a conversation starter about mental health, a personal health tracker, and a global source of invaluable data.
How is the World Feeling? is built on the foundations of SPUR:PROJECTS' 2014 project: How is Australia Feeling? campaign, and will return in 2019.
Harnessing the Connectedness of Rural & Remote Areas
Suicide is a critical issue for those in regional and remote areas with significantly higher statistics than metropolitan areas.
The Blue Letterbox is a “pop-up” event where those in rural and remote towns collectively paint their letterboxes blue as a symbolic declaration. This declaration is a commitment of two things:
1) Commitment to taking action and reaching out to their community for support when they go through tough times.
2) Commitment to “be there” and support others in their community who are going through a tough time.
Let's Celebrate the Mistakes We Make
On a set date at a set time, people gather in a range of venues across the world to have a drink and a chat. It's a pretty standard night out. Well, almost.
There are two rules to a F.U.N.:
1) You must meet at least one new person.
2) You must share at least one "fuck up" you've made.
It doesn’t matter how big or small the fuck up is. Let's face it: We live in a competitive society where weaknesses, mistakes or “fuck ups” are covered up, glossed over or ignored, rather than enjoyed for the glorious learning opportunity that they should be. F.U.N. changes that.
You think that talking about how you’re feeling is challenging?
Try not talking at all
Get Silent. Get Heard. throws down the challenge to go silent for 24, 48 or 72 hours - all to raise awareness and funds for men’s mental health and suicide prevention.
Too many young blokes reach a point in their life where they think that taking their own life is a better option than talking about how they’re feeling. So, the project is designed to demonstrate that although starting a conversation might not be the easiest thing to do, staying silent is a lot harder.
Australia. We Need to Talk.
We live in a country where boys and men are taught to bottle up the thoughts and feelings we have. At its core, "sucking it up and just getting on with life" is built on the idea of resilience - which is a positive thing. The problem is that ignoring problems doesn't actually build resilience.
Soften the Fck Up aims to challenge masculinity constructs that limit the willingness and openness of men to talk about how they're feeling.
We don't need to redefine masculinity. We need to undefine it.