About Weez Walk
Weez Walk's philosophy is to build an inclusive and resilient community. Since its inception in 2021, we have been firmly committed to fundraising for critical suicide prevention programmes, and creating broader awareness and conversations around youth mental wellbeing.
Weez Walk itself is a unique opportunity for you to switch off daily routines and embrace a nature-filled, around 60-kilometre coastal trail challenge. We welcome participants of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to join our efforts. Every step, every dollar, and every conversation counts!
Latest Youth Trends and Fundraising Impacts
All net proceeds from Weez Walk go to KELY Support Group for our mental health and suicide prevention programmes. Our youth-focused mandate is a direct response to the elevated vulnerabilities in recent years - from our survey in 2021, over 50% of respondents showed signs of depression. The youth mental health is even more alarming these years, according to a latest survey by local universities in 2023, nearly 18% have reported suicidal ideation, and around 8% had made a suicide attempt. While at the same time, timely help-seeking is rare, due to mental health stigma and limited resources.
Thanks to the generous support from 1,300+ event participants and donors to Weez Walks in the past few years, we have raised over HK$ 3 million to fund three key initiatives:
- Project Connect - a project that provides mental health-referral services to guide young people through their help-seeking journey. To date, we have proudly delivered 900+ consultation hours for over 100 youth cases, advising on available treatment options and providing unwavering support along the way.
- Coolminds - a mental health literacy school initiative implemented jointly by KELY Support Group and Mind HK, which has provided training to 11,500+ youth, and 2,000+ parents and teachers with an online portal (www.coolmindshk.com) of clinically reviewed resources and personal stories by youth across Hong Kong.
- Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative - this promotes general awareness campaigns to mobilise our community to be better equipped to start conversations with the development and sharing of mental health resources with the broader community, including suicide prevention manuals and training. Through different campaigns and events, we have reached more than 80,000 people online and offline since 2022.
Uniqueness
Weez Walk isn't just a physical endeavour; it serves as a safe space for us to open up, hold honest dialogues and provide mutual support with our loved ones. To facilitate this, we will be sharing practical toolkits along the way to help foster everyday mindfulness and resilience. Conversations help reduce stigma, and empower those in need to speak up and embark on their recovery journey.
KELY further extends this effort via broader community outreach. For instance, we have delivered numerous corporate workshops to help recognising the evolving needs of younger employees, and recommend workplace practices to enhance wellbeing and productivity. Our school awareness campaigns emphasise on building mental health literacy, to help students recognise their common stressors, mental health symptoms, and encourage those who struggle in silence to seek help, as well as supporting their peers.
