Voices of Hope

Passion & purpose gets me out of bed every day. As a 26-year-old, I feel like I've already lived 100 years. Having nearly lost my life to Anorexia as a teenager, I've made it my mission to give hope to those who are fighting mental illness. 

At 18, I started Voices of Hope along with a friend and the pace in which it has grown has highlighted the need for more resources and support of mental health in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Voices of Hope’s primary aim is to offer hope and encouragement to those suffering from mental ill-health. 

We believe that as people with lived experience we are able to offer an important perspective so our charity also has a focus of advocacy and the intention to implement change in the system.

I am applying for the Elevate Prize because I wholeheartedly believe that Voices of Hope has a bigger role to play in the mental health space and that with your support more lives can be saved. 

Having recently become General Manager, I am eager to learn from those who have walked similar paths and to not only grow as a leader but to make greater change in this space.

I spent the majority of my teenage years fighting mental illness. I nearly lost my life to Anorexia, OCD and Anxiety. I spent two years in and out of hospital fighting for freedom. The happy me was gone so it was the people around me who held hope for me.  

I felt an incredible degree of shame because of it. I worried about judgement; about being labelled.  One night I was lying in bed thinking of all the reasons I didn’t want to tell my story and then it occurred to me that I would not be the only person experiencing this fear. I decided I had a responsibility to share my story of survival with the hope of helping others. I understood that I was going to have to experience vulnerability in order to do so.

My ‘why’ is what drives me. I do this work not only for my younger self but for every single person who is fighting a battle with their mind. I want people to feel inspired, empowered and believe that there is hope.  I am proof.

Lived experience advocacy's a powerful tool. When someone shares their story, it allows others to feel safe to do the same. Since recovering from mental illness, I've found my purpose and passion as a Mental Health Advocate. 

Myself and Jazz Thornton launched VoH a nonprofit organisation that aims to create change whilst providing hope through the voices of lived experience. 

We started VoH because when we were unwell there was nowhere for us to turn to feel empowered or to see that there truly was a light at the end of the tunnel. 

VoH is a lived experience storytelling platform that has proven to save lives. We receive messages on a daily basis thanking us for existing: “Without you, I wouldn’t be here. Thank you for holding hope for me until I found it myself.” 

We've produced a wellbeing journal - “My Journey Starts Here”. We were chosen to meet Prince Harry and Meghan to share the work we do in the MH space, launched an app, clothing line, created multiple viral videos and won the Commonwealth Point of Light award from Her Majesty the Queen. But most importantly, every day we've reminded people, that life is worth living.

When we started Voices of Hope in 2017 there were no other organisations in NZ using storytelling through social media and video content as a way to inspire and give hope. As I started at the age of 18 (I’m now 26) I have grown up in the social media generation and have learnt to use it to its full potential. Lived experience storytelling is one of the most powerful tools and as an organisation that has the lived experience at its core, we thrive to share, inspire and create change.

What continues to amaze me is the amount of change we have been able to make in this space, with the very limited funds we have. I can only imagine our potential impact!

Our work has proven that we are saving lives and I truly believe I have found my life's purpose. I cannot imagine doing anything else. It's not easy, it is confronting and every single day I relive my past BUT the stories of hope and the mere fact that lives have been saved will continue to be my WHY.

Unfortunately, mental ill-health is very prevalent not only in New Zealand but around the world too. We all know someone who is fighting or has fought a battle with their mind. Every single day we impact people in a positive way through the content we create and messages we share. 

Our content is vulnerable and authentic meaning those who come across Voices of Hope feel less alone in their fight. 

The ripple effect of mental ill health is huge. When I was struggling so was my family, friends and community because they wanted to see me well. Our work doesn't only benefit the individual, it benefits those around them too. 

I am a big believer that the way stigma towards mental ill health will decrease is by people sharing their own lived experience. The impact on humanity is huge when someone opens up as it creates a safe place for others to do the same. 

I do worry where people would turn to for hope and inspiration if Voices of Hope didn't exist. The impact it has is more than we could have ever dreamed of.