The Program
The Power to the Kids program has 3 main objectives namely:
1. Raising awareness of mental health issues and the problems and pressures of modern day life challenging our younger generation
2. Educating and providing strategies for the parents of all our children to cope with the afore-mentioned challenges (research shows that a supportive family unit is the key ingredient to better mental health outcomes)
3. Providing child-centric activities that include the participation of their parents to re-establish communication and connection
How The Name was born
The name “Power to the Kids” was conceived from the overarching objectives of the program, which is to make our kids more resilient, less anxious and thereby “empowered”.
A close friend of the team Dan H. shared the insight that mental health is something that is not often thought of. At 25 years of age, Dan retains a connection to his childhood through his younger siblings. Dan can see that this initiative can help them and many other kids like them. Dan came up with the name in a flash and so Power to the Kids was born.
We want our children to realise that it’s OK not to be in control of their feelings and there is a safe place to discuss their feelings.
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes
Oscar Wilde
Meet the Team
The team are connected by a shared vision of improving parents’ ability to support their kid’s mental health. What excites the Power to the Kids team is the show of support from other mental health professionals which indicates that the program is filling a need.
Dr Annemarie Winters
Power To The Kids is the brainchild of Annemarie Winters and was created to eliminate or at least reduce the number of mental health issues besetting our children.
For Annemarie, unresolved mental health issues have become increasingly evident in her role as an emergency department doctor. She is witnessing presentations of self-harm in hospital emergency departments in our younger generation. Annemarie recognises that parents need support to understand and manage the issues their children are facing and that’s where Power to the Kids comes in.
Dr Nicola Holmes
Objectives 1 and 2 will be achieved by the delivery of workshops by the second team member of Power to the Kids , Dr Nicola Holmes.
Nicola has had extensive experience in raising mental health awareness having worked for “Headspace” a national youth mental health organisation for 10 years, specifically educating General Practitioners and more recently delivering her own awareness and educational presentations to the parents of high school and primary school aged children.
Greg Williams
The third team member of Power to the Kids is Greg Williams who some of you may know as P & C president and general assistant at Mullaway Primary School. Greg’s role will consist of marketing and website content.
Greg became a convert to the cause after attending one of Doctor Nicola’s presentations. “In my day mental health was a taboo subject and the perception was that it only affected some people”. “ I now realise it it more widespread but more so that we now bring it out in the open and talk about it and that is a good thing”.
The artwork for the Power to the Kids was conceived by Mullaway Primary student Hannah Martin and the logo concept and design by Kathryn James of Kathryn James Design of Mullaway.
“TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO FORGIVE IS DiVINE”
Alexander Pope