“BEING is proud to announce our tentpole event for Mental Health Month, a panel discussion entitled Climate Change and Mental Health – “A Ticking Timebomb?”
The contribution of climate anxiety and disaster exposure on our mental health, particularly that of young people, warrants deeper and more urgent attention, which is why the World Federation for Mental Health identified “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies” as its theme for World Mental Health Day 2025.
We’re pulling together an amazing breadth and depth of panelists to help us explore: what’s happening and why, what the implications are and what we can and need to do to mitigate the impacts if we are to avoid a catastrophic impact on our collective mental health.
Our panelists include:
Dr Amanda Cohn MLC – Greens spokesperson on mental health and chair of the 2023 inquiry into the “Equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care in NSW”
Dr Blanche Verlie – University of Sydney, Sydney Environment Institute, a multidisciplinary social scientist whose work focuses on climate change including how policy negligence and gaslighting by political leaders contribute to climate injustice, and
Nirvana Talukder – youth climate activist, member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition who helped set up the School Strike for Climate Change movement in Australia.
Butch Young – A 20 year veteran mental health consumer advocate and peer worker, Butch was appointed Mental Health Commander at the Bateman’s Bay Hanging Rock evacuation centre during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019. (Butch shares his personal story around the bushfires with SANE in this video.)
Annie Monks – A multi generational, Northerner Rivers queer, aboriginal woman, Annie is a mental health clinician at the Medicare mental health centre in Lismore and has worked in the Byron Bay MHU – “Tuckeroo.” In 2022, Annie volunteered as a mental health peer worker for the Lismore flood response team.
The event will be moderated by BEING CEO Giancarlo de Vera who has advocated at the United Nations for a disability inclusion approach to climate action.
When: Friday 17 October (1:00 – 3:00pm)
Where: Theatrette, NSW Parliament House
Click one of the links below to book your free place.
Register to attend IN PERSON https://bit.ly/3KMM7oO
Register to attend ONLINE https://bit.ly/4nXLB5F