Description
The way mental health is approached around the world is ridiculous. How many people that receive therapy or treatment of any kind, have discussed their problems with someone that has been through the same issues? Or something relatable? Or has got feedback from someone that's been in that situation rather than got a degree from university? And you probably waited in excess of 3 months to actually get an appointment.
I like to think I'm a nice, caring guy anyway but I started to appreciate alot more about humanity after the year I have had. Things that wouldn't normally be peoples main concern. I cared what others had been through and learned to value different peoples situations and reasons for their actions. It felt like something needs to be done to make a difference, and it only takes one person...
So my idea with Cross Gen Entertainment came about. Gaming had helped me out in dark times so originally, I wanted to open a gaming centre to bring the gaming community back together, because it's more convenient to do it from your own home these days than to engage with others physically. The name came from people with next gen consoles being able to play together. But I want to stand for more than games, I want to build a community, a family home for everyone kind of place, so I thought why stop there and adapted the idea to the Cross Gen Entertainment Centre.
This is going to be set up like a modern day, old-school community centre. It will have the gaming centre, a bar and events area for shows and concerts and classroom space for workshops and projects. I aim on working with local schools, charities and businesses to help cement a more concrete feel to humanity because it feels like we've lost ourselves since technology took over (I say typing this on a smart phone ????)
The name now means across the generations of people, because we dont just want to stand out to people that game. We want every person from every walk of life to feel open and welcome. There will be community projects, fundraisers and promotional events taking place until resources are in place to develop the centre idea.
I'm hoping the centre will adapt a 'mental health hub' title, with activities to encourage people to battle their problems with others that have been through similar/the same scenarios in life. It will be decorated with stories, mainly my own, for people to read and relate to, and hopefully encourage them to open up about issues that they have been fighting alone. This is extremely hard for me, as one of the main problems I have is discussing my own problems. So putting myself on the frontline is difficult to say the least, but I truly believe this method can change the way people look at others suffering, as it encourages understanding and acceptance of others situations.
We live in a world where technology rules 99% of our lives, and we have the whole world and then some at the touch of a finger. We all feel we have a platform to share our opinions, connect with each other and everything in between, but as soon as someone disagrees, it's all hate, slander, threats and anger. There is no discussions, reasoning or talking about why the other person feels that way. So this is what I want to challenge.
We set up community projects from litter picks to table top sales. Helping people in the community with funds raised from each event.
All I am trying to do, is bring people back to loving one another, help those struggling and be the voice that others might need to survive. If I fail as a businessman after being there to save one person, then at least i can say i succeeded at being human.
