The South African Federation for Mental Health

15/08/2025

12/08/2025

In honour of , we are spotlighting the young coaches at Grassroot Soccer SA. ⚽

Grassroot Soccer SA is a community-based organisation that leverages the power of soccer to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives. Their programmes equip young people with the tools to tackle the most critical and interrelated health challenges facing them today, including mental health. 💚

📽️ SAFMH recently visited the Grassroot Soccer SA facility in Alexandra, Johannesburg, to chat with some of their coaches and observe the mental health programme in action.

🔗 Learn more about Grassroot Soccer SA here: https://grassrootsoccer.org/southafrica/

07/08/2025

🫨It's that time of year when the calendar says mid-year, but your brain might be saying stress or even burnout. As we hit the second-half stretch, let’s talk about stress and how to keep going without running on empty.

Stress: Unavoidable, but it doesn't need to make you sick. Stress is a normal part of life, but when it builds up without being addressed, it can take a toll on your body and mind.

📢Whether you are a parent, young person or caregiver, or just feeling the pressure, our latest newsletter includes tailored resources to help you manage your stress and keep going strong.

📩Head to the link below to read the latest SAFMH newsletter.
🔗 https://mailchi.mp/safmh/stressawareness2025

31/07/2025

The SA Federation for Mental Health [SAFMH] unequivocally condemns the negligence of Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital as reported by the Health Ombudsman report released yesterday.

As a mental health-focused, human-rights organisation, SAFMH believes that access to quality mental health care is a human right.

We call for immediate action from the National Department of Health as well as the Northern Cape Provincial Department of Health to adequately address the findings from this investigation.

🚨We want to see good mental health realised for all in South Africa. This is non-negotiable.

Read our full statement about the Health Ombuds report below.

🔗https://www.safmh.org/safmh-responds-to-health-ombuds-report-on-northern-cape-mental-health-hospitals/

28/07/2025

📢 Call-to-Action!

SAFMH believes that now is the time to meaningfully invest in youth mental health in the country. Ensuring that our youth are thriving is not just about one ground-breaking intervention, grant funding or singular behavioural programmes. It’s about developing a “whole-of-society approach’'' which involves active collaboration between multiple stakeholders to address the fundamental challenges facing the country’s youth today, including poverty, crime, unemployment, violence and access to education.

This Psychosocial Disability Awareness Month, we call on the South African government to:

📢 Uphold their commitment of decentralising and integrating mental health into general health services, mainly at the primary healthcare level. We believe that a community-based model of mental health care would promote more equitable access to health care, which is crucial in South Africa, given that most communities do not have access to specialist care, including youth with mental health conditions.

📢 Address the "treatment gap" by establishing and deploying multidisciplinary mental health teams that actively also focus on youth mental health in each district across the country.

📢 Institute an increased ring-fenced budget for mental health, with a large proportion being invested in community-based mental health care. Sufficient funding should also be directed to promotion and prevention interventions aimed at youth.

📢 Put youth at the centre of any and all mental health initiatives that involve them, ensuring that they are part of the policy-making process and that they are invited into decision-making spaces as standard practice.

We also ask the public and the media to join us in calling upon the government to act now to support young people’s mental health, as now is the hour to make our youth empowered!

23/07/2025

📢 What does investment in youth mental health mean?

Both the World Health Organisation and UNICEF advise investing meaningfully in promotion and prevention programmes and interventions aimed at youth.

There is ample evidence that shows that investing in youth mental health can lead to notable economic and social benefits in the long term.

Join us in calling upon the government to act now to support youth mental health, as now is the hour to make our youth empowered!

22/07/2025

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Youth mental health is an important issue, and insufficient investment can lead to long-term consequences that could impact the youth’s future contributions to our country.

Read our PDAM 2025 campaign summary for more: 🔗 https://www.safmh.org/its-the-hour-to-make-our-youth-empowered/

18/07/2025

In honour of , we wanted to share a blog written by one of the SAFMH National Youth Advocacy Forum members, Nhlalala Baloyi.

Head to the link below to read what Mandela Day means to Nhalala.

🔗https://gowachabi.blogspot.com/2025/07/67-moments-of-softness.html

17/07/2025

📢 SAFMH STORYTELLER AUDIO SERIES

As we continue to call for more meaningful investment into youth mental health for , Communications and Awareness Lead, Michel’le Donnelly, chatted with Mbali Shongwe about why we need to focus on youth mental health, and she shared about her own mental health journey.

🎧 You can listen to the full interview below.

🔗 https://www.safmh.org/why-we-need-to-focus-on-youth-mental-health-with-mbali-shongwe/

Mbali is the founder of Mindful(l) Organisation, a youth-centred mental health organisation which aims to destigmatise mental health conditions and create a community of collective care through a holistic and creatively curated approach that includes peer-based healing initiatives, mental health education and access to free psychosocial support for young people across South Africa.

15/07/2025

Because we understand there is no health without mental health

Siyabuswa and surrounding, we invite you to join us as we create awareness on psycho- social disability! Details are on the poster. Walk with us for a great cause!