With alarming information spreading rapidly and widely every day on the news and social media of the COVID-19 crisis, mental wellbeing has been hit hard in the community. Our week five #localhero James Pickford, a HKFC rugby player, decided to raise awareness of this, in a very innovative way!

Having suffered from depression and anxiety in 2019, James started training at ATP Fitness, quickly realising that physical exercise is one of the key factors in keeping mentally healthy. He decided to put his new fitness to the test with the ‘Everest Challenge’. To raise funds and awareness for his chosen mental health charity, James ‘Everested’ his apartment’s staircase - 295 times, reaching the height of 8,848m, a.k.a, Mount Everest.

When we reached out to James for a message to the whole community, James said, “I think my message would be never judge the state of some ones’ mental health based on their behaviour or appearance, with depression & other mental illnesses there are no signs...You will only truely know someone is struggling IF & only IF they choose to tell you. So that means we need to make the subject so normal that reaching out to someone for help becomes second nature when you are battling. Check in on people, ask how they are doing, we are going through some seriously stressful times. Be kind and be open. I'm always available for a chat if you need someone to reach out to.”

Thanks for your epic mental health journey to cheer people up and your kind message, James, and congratulations to you, our week five local hero!

The search for next week’s local hero continues... Nominate your hero now!