Meet Abbie Williams, Founder of Gold Coast-based charity Letters of Hope, who is on a mission to break the mental health stigma one encouraging letter at a time.
Founded in 2018, Abbie sources volunteers from across the world to write letters on kindness, coping strategies and words of empowerment. These letters are then sent on to those struggling with their mental health, to remind them people care and support them through these tough times.
So far, 1500 letters have been written and received, with Abbie setting her sights on expanding her offering into the corporate world to tackle mental health on a broader level. We caught up with Abbie to understand what inspired her to start Letters of Hope, and what the charity has achieved so far.
Q: Why did you start Letters of Hope?
A: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness affects at least one in four people and every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide. The statistics are constantly on the rise, and Letters of Hope has taught me that mental health does not discriminate, it affects all layers of our society. If you haven't personally experienced a mental health concern in your lifetime, you care about someone who has.
When I reached my early teens, I became part of that 1 in 4 statistic after developing severe symptoms of anxiety and I experienced first-hand the bleak lens that mental illness can bring to our view of the world. I moved to Australia from the UK in 2017 and my grandparents naturally became my pen pals. I really noticed the positive impact opening a kind letter can have after a tough day and wanted to give others that same feeling.
Research shows that both social connection and compassion are important predictors of positive mental health and well-being. In an ever-evolving technological world, we are progressively losing a sense of social connection. Some people have long forgotten the feeling of opening a handwritten letter or may have actually never experienced that feeling.
Through Letters of Hope, we mail handwritten letters to people who are going through a tough time, packed with words of empowerment, helpful coping strategies, self-care activities and mental health support contacts.
Q: Can you tell us about your own journey with mental health?
A: I think I had always struggled with my mental health in some way, but it became a lot more severe in my teens when I started to realise that I was worrying about things a lot more than my peers. I was worrying to the point of feeling physically sick and unwell. I honestly felt like I was the only one in the world that felt that way, and I didn't feel normal at all. I remember one day googling my symptoms and reading an article about OCD. I had always thought OCD was about cleanliness, but it is actually characterised by intrusive thoughts, rumination and reassurance seeking. When I read that article it was like something clicked.
Of course, my symptoms were still severe but it felt like a weight had been lifted in some way knowing that I wasn't alone. I knew from then that, in some way, I wanted to make sure that other people who felt like me weren't alone too. OCD, anxiety and depression were severe for me for a long time and I didn't seek any form of professional help until I was at university and saw the campus counsellor. It is still a daily battle, and I don't think I will ever fully recover, however, I have come leaps and bounds from where I was and I know that I will be able to live a happy and fulfilled life whilst learning to manage my symptoms.
Q: Please tell us a bit about your volunteer letter writers
A: Something that has really stood out to me since I started this journey is the kindness that's in the world. I know when times are tough it can be really hard to see it, but since launching Letters of Hope there have been so many people who have reached out wanting to help or to get involved in some way.
I have had wonderful handmade cards donated to me, little keepsakes to pop inside the letter, and someone who helped put together the Letters of Hope website for free. I have really been blown away. And, of course, we have the Letters of Hope volunteer program. My very first Letter Writer, Harriet, still volunteers and sends lots of letters through Letters of Hope, and I also have another dedicated volunteer, Bonnie. They write with such kindness and compassion and send me letters in bulk so I can mail them out to those in need.
I know that each of my volunteers joins for a reason, whether it be that they are inspired through their own mental health journey or that they want to channel their passion. I can't wait to grow the volunteer base further.
Q: How many letters has the service sent since starting? Have you noticed any kind of growth since the beginning?
A: We have almost sent 1,500 letters globally since we started to over 20 countries around the world from right here in Australia to the UK, US, Germany, Africa and even Iceland!
It goes without saying that letter requests rose throughout the pandemic. I think we all in some way struggled with our mental health through such an uncertain time so we had a lot of people reach out asking for some kind words. It really impacted everyone differently. From people not being able to leave the country to visit family and friends, to those who lived alone and were very isolated, to people who had a lot of health anxiety around actually catching COVID. I think following on from a tough couple of years, many people are talking about mental health more and feel more comfortable in doing so.
Q: How does it all work?
A: When I first started out, I shared a post around on social media in community groups and asked people to reach out if they needed some kind words. It's really simple, people just need to email us and request a letter, letting us know where to send it to.
Some people find it therapeutic to note down their thoughts in the email - there's something nice about venting to a stranger sometimes. Others, though, might not want to go into detail about what is going on for them and that's okay too. We now have a 'request a letter' button on our website that people can fill out to request a letter: lettersofhope.care/
Q: What are your visions for the future of the company?
A: Recently, I left my full-time corporate role so that I can dedicate time to growing Letters of Hope. We just officially registered as a charity and offer a suite of workplace wellbeing services, mental health first aid training, workshops and speaking engagements to generate funding.
All funds generated through these services will help to drive our vision. That means that those who engage our services are not only benefiting themselves and their organisations through building mental health awareness, but they are also contributing to their corporate social responsibility because every dollar spent on our services allows us to send more letters around the world, inspire kindness in our communities and ultimately connect people to the support that they need for their mental health.
Businesses that work with us can proudly showcase to their teams that they truly value the mental health of the wider community. The ultimate end goal is to develop and deliver free workshops and education for schools and the wider community to raise mental health awareness and educate people on the importance of compassion and kindness so that we can build kinder future generations.
You never really know what someone is going through and it's incredible how much of an impact a small act of kindness can have on someone who is having a tough time. I think we all need to do more of it!
If you are struggling with your mental health, going through a tough time, or simply need a pick-me-up, please request a handwritten letter by filling out their online contact form. Alternatively, you can begin volunteering to write your own letters of hope by visiting the information page here.
