batyr X Verse

Tell us a bit about batyr as a for-purpose organisation at UniSA?

“batyr is a for-purpose mental health organisation, created and driven by young people. We smash the stigma surrounding mental ill-health and empower young people to reach out for help. Our main focus at the university is to create a community that supports students’ mental health and wellbeing. We act as a bridging service to connect students with the resources available to them.” – Annabelle

“Annabelle has summed it up pretty well! I think I would add that batyr is passionate about making students feel less alone about struggling with their mental health. By creating a conversation about it we can work to normalise the topic so not only can we casually ask our friends how they are going, but so they feel comfortable answering honestly.” – Emily

“To find out more about batyr Australia the online website has a lot of great information regarding what we are and what we do.” – Georgia

How can people access Batyr and experience the work you do to address the elephant in the room?

“It’s so fantastic to see familiar faces at our event as people recognise us. We reach more people every year and I hope we continue to keep meeting more people and having positive conversations about mental health.” – Annabelle

“Because we are quite a small group, the majority of our work is done through online spaces such as our Instagram @batyr. unisa. We are very active there providing tips and advice for managing your mental health. We also advertise all of our events there, everyone is welcome to come along, meet the team, and have some important conversations.” – Emily

“We have a-lot of events on campus and try to get around to all campuses and see you all and have a chat! our unisa instagram is a place to keep up to date with our team and catch all of our event dates and details

@batyr.unisa” – Georgia

“@batyraus instagram also shares a lot of important information and is a platform for many voices to be heard with links to the @ourherd.io app.” – Georgia

When you joined batyr what goal did you set out to achieve? Have you achieved it?

“At the beginning of this year, I set out to help batyr smash the stigma on campus. If we can make it easier for even one person to talk about mental health in their own lives then that’s all I could

ask for.” – Annabelle

“My goal when joining batyr was to
help create an environment at UniSA where mental health is not a topic that is avoided. I believe that we have smashed that goal and have been blown away by the incredible participation we have had on campus so far. I really hope we can continue to smash the mental health stigma for good.” – Emily

“When joining batyr at the beginning of the year I had only had a few interactions with batyr speakers and uni exec members. The one or two short interactions I did have were really meaningful and stuck with me in a sense of how distinctively important and emerging the organisation was. After learning more about the organisation through our training at the beginning of the year I was so excited to begin the journey as a part of the exec, my goal was to share my knowledge and introduce as many uni students to batyr in the way

I had my first interactions that inspired me to apply. I have definitely met a-lot of amazing students who have been willing to learn and have a conversation around the importance of mental health which I believe we both left the conversation achieving something meaningful. I have grown my own knowledge and sense of self through interacting with an amazing group of like-minded individuals and getting to participate in on-campus events at the University.” – Georgia