In this final week of June we are almost halfway to our end of financial year fundraising goal of $10,000. An appeal from our founder and volunteer Executive Director, Carol Ride.
PSC began because of our concern about climate change and the impact on the places and people we love, the injustice of its impact across the globe on those least responsible and least able to protect themselves. PSC remains primarily a volunteer group with staff support.
We are almost halfway to our end of financial year fundraising goal of $10,000 and really hoping we can make it in this final week. Can you help?
PSC is an organisation and network of mental health professionals with a love for our work and a recognition that we need to offer it beyond a one-to-one model – that this work can aid the community at this time of crisis. We have worked with community activist groups, coal protest camps, climate scientists and researchers, policy makers and the staff of environmental and climate advocacy organisations, with teachers and students and parents.
The emotional load and labour of work in the climate change space is often ignored. This takes a heavy toll.
We have found that often people respond to the climate crisis in a multitude of ways – going to practical impact, as they should – but the emotional load and labour of this work is often ignored. This takes a heavy toll.
This heavy toll is the focus of the work we do at PSC, but emotional support is rarely recognised as needing funding because it seems like a luxury that we in the climate movement can do without. Yet emotional support is a critical part of how we will sustain the effective and transformational action needed to address the climate crisis.
People need support to acknowledge and build communities of care, in their group, neighbourhood, community or workplace, to prevent excessive overwork, and to recognise the widespread culture of denial – including the denial of a need for self care – and of the high risk of burnout. In a community of care this labour is celebrated, recognised, valued and seen as an essential basis of all transformational actions.
We know that climate emotions are real
PSC has been working in the community and climate space for more than ten years. We know that climate emotions are real. And that those who are grappling with grief, fear, despair, rage and hope deserve support and community connection.
At PSC we also know that there are key skills and tools that we can share to make sure that our engagement with this issue remains constructive, sustainable, and deeply connected to our love for life on this planet.
In 2023-24 we are expanding our programs to focus especially on helping young people and their parents to have healthy intergenerational dialogue and connection around climate change
Learn more about why this work matters in the video below.
We have created a professional development series that has now reached hundreds of mental health professionals all over Australia. We are growing a thriving community of climate aware practitioners (CAPs) who support their communities.
We offer supportive monthly Climate Cafes for anyone who is struggling with the climate crisis and needing space to talk, feel heard and build connection. We are already working to expand the reach of this program further in the next twelve months.
