More than 2,000 take part in Bengaluru mental-health run
About 500 school students joined more than 2,000 participants at a mental-health run in Bengaluru ahead of World Mental Health Day. The student-led event sought to make conversations about emotional wellbeing easier and highlighted the need for clearer pathways from recognising distress to receiving support.
More than 2,000 people, including about 500 school students, took part in a World Mental Health Day Run at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru on Sunday. The event was held ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10 and included 3K, 5K and 10K runs. It was organised by Imaan Zara Khan, a Grade 11 student and a 1M1B Changemaker.
The event aimed to encourage conversations about emotional wellbeing among young people. Its 3K category, called the “Unspoken Run”, used the message “A step for every conversation we never had”. The run formed part of Project S.A.F.E., or Student Advocacy for Emotional Well-Being, a student-led initiative founded by Imaan.
The project addresses adolescent mental health through research, storytelling and systems-level advocacy. Project S.A.F.E. examines how distress among young people is recognised, how they seek assistance and how adults respond.
It also considers whether schools provide clear routes to appropriate support. Imaan said she wanted the initiative to move beyond awareness and ask what happens after a young person begins to struggle. She identified recognition, response and access to the right support as central questions.
The event brought students and runners together in a public setting and used participation in the run to encourage discussion. The source material does not provide details of specific counselling services or medical interventions offered at the event. Imaan is due to present Project S.A.F.E.
at the 10th 1M1B Summit at the United Nations Office in Geneva. She will join youth leaders, institutions and other stakeholders from around the world, according to the report.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.