Around this time every year in The BUSY Group offices, staff are complaining about their stiff arms and tight glutes. You can’t even watch your work colleague get up off of their seat without hearing the customary groan. And it’s only Day 2.
That’s alright though because while we’re getting fit and building arms of steel, The BUSY team are raising funds and awareness for the annual Push Up Challenge, an excellent charity that supports mental health awareness and raises much needed funds for organisations that include Lifeline, Movember, and their own Push for Better Foundation.
The Push Up Challenge not only gives us a target to reach every day (with the ultimate goal of completing 3,139 push-ups over 24 days!), the excellent Push Up Challenge app not only keeps everyone on track to fulfill the mission, it provides a story behind every day’s daily number challenge to complete.
While Day 1’s information for completing 74 push-ups during the day was a sweet, light-hearted look at the role pets play in mental health (and here at BUSY, we love our doggos, they’re our office mascots!), Day 2’s target of 130 was a strong, hard-hitting message that we think needs to be shared.
Did you know approximately 1 in 3 Australians living with disability report a high level of psychological distress, compared to around 1 in 13 people without disability? Whether people are living with a physical disability or a neurological or intellectual disability, that’s a shocking 1 in 3, a significantly higher rate of mental health issues including depression and anxiety.
More shocking still, the suicide rate in Australia is three times higher for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Many people living with disability lack support and understanding from their peers or they are far more likely to suffer socioeconomic barriers, finding it difficult to gain employment and, something many able-bodied persons take for granted, the social connections and purpose that work and independent living brings.
So we’re digging deep and putting up with our sore arms and glutes while sharing the camaraderie of being involved in a cause together, because in reality we are by far the lucky ones with the ability to support and lift up our fellow Australians who are living with mental health issues.
Find out more about the Push Up Challenge.
If you are someone living with disability and would like support into work, BUSY Ability and BUSY Health can assist.
Across our offices and schools, The BUSY Group are pushing for mental health support, as part of the annual Push Up Challenge.
The BUSY Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to the land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and their Elders past and present.
