Darwin, You Are Invited: Free Community Event at Raintree Park for Schizophrenia Awareness Week

This May, MIFANT is bringing a free community morning to the heart of Darwin City, and we want to see you there.

On Friday 22 May 2026, join us at Raintree Park from 10:00am to 1:00pm for a free gathering marking Schizophrenia Awareness Week 2026. There is live music, a free BBQ sausage sizzle, information stalls from MIFANT and community partner organisations, and a community activity that puts a simple question directly to Darwin. "What makes our community mentally well?"

What to Expect on the Day

Raintree Park will be set up with information stalls where you can speak directly with MIFANT staff and partner organisations about mental health support, NDIS services, and local programs available across Darwin.

Alongside the stalls, there is live music and a free BBQ sausage sizzle running throughout the morning. Come for an hour or stay for the whole thing.

At the centre of the event is a community voting activity. Five large jars, each representing a different kind of support that helps people stay mentally well, will be set up across the space. You simply take a lolly from the jar that represents what matters most to you.

The results build in real time across the morning and carry forward to MIFANT's second event later in May.

Free entry. No registration. Everyone welcome.

Why Schizophrenia Awareness Week Matters

Schizophrenia Awareness Week is a national campaign led by the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia. The 2026 theme is Beyond the Headlines, and it asks something important: what do people living with severe mental illness actually need to stay well?

The answer is not complicated. Accessible support. Safe housing. Peer and family connection. Services that work together. And communities willing to talk about mental illness without fear or stigma.

The Raintree Park event is MIFANT's way of having that conversation with Darwin, out in the open, in the middle of the city.

Around one in 100 Australians will experience schizophrenia in their lifetime. Most of them will live ordinary, meaningful lives when they have the right support around them. That is the story Schizophrenia Awareness Week is trying to tell, and it is the story MIFANT has been part of in the Northern Territory for over 30 years.

To find out more about MIFANT's programs and services, visit www.mifant.org.au or call 1800 985 944.