ONE woman is set to part with her long blonde locks in a bid to put mental illness in the spotlight.
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Em Sims will shave her head next month at the Court House Hotel while raising money and sparking conversation about mental health.
The whirr of the clippers isn’t a hair-raising prospect for Ms Sims.
“[I’m] a little nervous, because your hair is something you think gives you so much of who your are, but really it’s just hair, it’ll grow back,” she said.
“It’s better to lose your hair than to lose a life.”
Ms Sims is raising money for beyondblue and batyr, but becoming a visual catalyst for conversation is just as valuable.
“It’s something visible and mental health is not something your can see in people, even those who you might know more than anybody else in the world,” she said.
Ms Sims said she was spurred-on by an online article about the invisible nature of mental illness.
“I’ve never had short hair so it’s a very visual way to get people talking about it ,” she said.
“I read an article about a doctor who was saying to a mentally-ill patient ‘if I bandaged your head, would you feel better so it’s something visible?’”
Ms Sims has already pooled more than $1500 online through mycause, with a lofty aim of collecting $10,000 overall.
The head shave will take place at the Court House Hotel on October 14.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Court House turns barbershop
The Peel St pub may a place where some punters let their hair down, but it seems a few are taking that a bit literally.
Ms Sims’ charity-chop comes just months after two Legal Aid solicitors held court in the premises for a head-shaving which raised more than $7000 for cancer research.