During the pandemic, Covid-19 has physically and mentally affected many individuals regardless of the age group as many of them faced challenges that causes stress and depression. According to public health measures, ssolation and loneliness are one of the few factors that increase stress and anxiety levels.
In the course of the World Mental Health Month in October, Suria KLCC group, Alamanda Shopping Centre Putrajaya and Mesra Mall in Kemaman, had will be sharing some insights on how people can manage their psychological well-being in simple yet holistic ways.
“As we have always been promoting our malls as safe spaces for the public to visit at all times, using an outlet to educate them about the importance of mental health is a natural extension of what we want to do as a provider of safe spaces. For this, we have partnered with several local organizations to creatively share the message about ways of coping,” said Andrew Brien, executive director of the Suria KLCC Group.
With this Suria KLCC will be collaborating with some of the well-known mental health NGOs like Malaysian Mental Health Association, Befrienders KL, RELATE and the Green Ribbon Group as well as the Ministry of Health whilst launching a fundraising initiative through the sale of ‘Suria Ribbon Pin’. The ‘Suria Ribbon Pin’ will be selling at RM10 each as a funding to support mental health-related causes.
‘We Are With You’, a mental health awareness campaign organized by Suria KLCC which is believed by Brien as the first mall in Malaysia to drive a mental health awareness campaign who incorporates safe spaces for the community.
Starting on 8 November to 8 December, Suria KLCC will be providing a ‘Safe Space’ platform to promote activities related to mental health. It will be located at Level 1, Ampang Mall from 10am to 10pm daily.
With Safe Space, selected NGOs will be enhancing the public’s understanding about mental health by having workshops, talks and panel discussions while showcasing the work of these NGOs. The environment in Safe Space will be designed with educational gallery on mental health with the exhibition of background, statistics and lived experience stories.
YAM Tengku Puteri Raja Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan Al-Sultan Abdullah
According to the Green Ribbon Group Founder and President, YAM Tengku Puteri Raja Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan Al-Sultan Abdullah said, “The Green Ribbon Group aims to champion a community approach to mental health and this initiative by Suria KLCC is a wonderful example of doing so. I applaud Suria KLCC’s efforts in empowering NGOs such as the Malaysian Mental Health Association, Befrienders and RELATE – another example of how the Green Ribbon Group and Suria KLCC share the same aim. We must keep our conversations on mental health going.”
President of the Malaysian Mental Health Association, and policy advisor to the Green Ribbon Group, Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj said, “It is important to continuously educate the people in Malaysia on mental health because most tend to stigmatise it. Proper education is important in finding solutions to mental health issues, and in this spirit, this endeavour by the Suria KLCC Group in bringing mental health to the forefront is highly laudable.”
Influencers like Harith Iskandar, Dr. Jezamine Lim and Dato’ Chevy Beh will be there supporting to ‘We Are With You’ campaign as a smaller scaled Mental Health Awareness Gallery will extended to Alamanda Shopping Centre and the Mesra Mall.
For more information and the latest updates, visit:
- Suria KLCC – www.suriaklcc.com.my / www.facebook.com/SuriaKLCCMall
- Alamanda – www.alamanda.com.my / www.facebook.com/AlamandaShoppingCentre
- Mesra Mall – www.mesramall.com / www.facebook.com/MyMesraMall
