Eight years ago in her role as a life coach, helping mainly women, Tauranga resident Cassandra Hogan’s issues raised by other wāhine kept coming up. “The men in their lives were struggling,” Hogan said.
Gavin Bisman (MC), Corey Choat, Paul Anthony and Russell Packer will speak at the He. event. Photo / Supplied
A severe lack of support for men and their struggles with mental health drove Hogan to launch He. – A Men’s Mental Health Charity Event in 2023.
“It was so powerful to see these guys get up there and be vulnerable,” she said.
It is Cassandra Hogan’s third year running the He. event.
This year’s event will take place on July 11 from 5.30pm-11pm at the Cargo Shed in Tauranga City, featuring speakers Jack Jensen, Corey Choat, Russell Packer and Paul Anthony.
At the moment, the He event sticks to the Bay of Plenty community, but Hogan had psychologists in Christchurch wanting to run a similar event there.
In New Zealand, it can take weeks to see a doctor, and even longer to get a counsellor, Hogan said. As a result, the Tauranga resident said she was stepping in to give men a space where they feel heard.
“It doesn’t take much. It does take a step and provides that hope.”
In the 2023 and 2024 financial years, 445 suspected self-inflicted deaths out of 617 were males, according to Te Whatu Ora.
Self-inflicted deaths for Māori males were 24.8 per 100,000 Māori male population, twice the amount for non-Māori, at 12.7 per 100,000.
“Suicide was the third-leading category of death,” Te Whatu Ora said.
Hogan is joined by Kiwi action sports star and Spark That Chat founder Jack Jensen, whose work in the field of men’s mental health is personal. In 2020, a string of Jensen’s friends took their own lives in a period of just a few months. They ranged in age from 18-50, he said.
“I was just like, f***, I don’t get it, but I know this is not being talked about enough.”
In March 2021, he launched Spark That Chat after experiencing first-hand the emotional ups and downs men face and learning key lessons about mental health. Jensen prides himself on keeping his talks raw and honest and does not preach about tools he does not personally use.
“I wouldn’t talk about s*** that I don’t utilise myself.”
Tickets for He. – A Men’s Mental Health Charity Event, 5.30pm-11pm on July 11 at the Cargo Shed, Tauranga can be purchased from: https://events.humanitix.com/he-mens-mental-health-charity-event