Newsletter
Monthly(ish) Updates – April 2026
9 mins
Reading Time
Key Updates
Board Recruitment and a lot of hard work
Opportunity to volunteer as part of our Integrity Army or volunteer pool
Stretch and Learn at EarthPoint Evolution
Unfiltered for Youth Week
Trail of Integrity Update
International Integrity - speaking to young people in the Philippines and Women Deliver
Website is coming!
New Integrity Army team members
NOTICE - We are in the process of upgrading our website. The current website is no longer being maintained
Rachael’s Update
We are incorporating into a Company Limited by Guarantee (for those non-business folk, we’re becoming a real charity!), which has been keeping me very busy.
When I sent my first donation request email back at the beginning of 2024, I never imagined what was to come. I never anticipated it growing so rapidly and exponentially into a full-blown not-for-profit. This is scary, it is big, it is a lot (and yes, at times it’s too much)… but it’s making real, meaningful strides towards autonomy, dignity and human rights in a world that damn well needs more of it.
What a privilege it is to be so busy.
What an honour it is to hold so much responsibility.
I promise that I will do my absolute best to wield this power that I’m building with authenticity, responsibility and commitment to flattening said power and prioritising mutuality, collaboration and genuine care even when it’s difficult to do so.
Integrity’s Inaugural Board
Board EOIs are now closed - thank you to everyone who submitted an application. Our Integrity Army are wrapping up discussions and will be in contact with all applicants within the next few weeks.
We look forward to inducting an incredible group of people who will play an instrumental role in shaping the direction, identity and purpose of Integrity Initiative. This will not be easy, but it will most certainly be worth it.
Join the Integrity Army
If governance isn’t your thing or you’ve missed the cut-off, you can still get involved through the Integrity Army or as a volunteer! For those who prefer coordinating events, behind-the-scenes work, workshop facilitation, resource development and the day-to-day bits and pieces that bring Integrity Initiative to life, this is perfect for you.
The extent of this is variable, with two different levels of commitment on offer:
Join our casual volunteer pool - volunteer whatever time you have in a way that works for you, as you see fit. This is a lower commitment with lower responsibility and the ability to transition into the Army if you wish to.
Join the Integrity Army - a smaller group with more responsibility who are in charge of Integrity Initiative’s day-to-day operations - the delivery of our packages, workshops and community events. This is the face of Integrity Initiative - the ones who actually DO the DOING. It will look slightly more involved, with monthly meetings, tasks in between, and the potential to head up divisions/project work. There will hopefully be more opportunities to engage including potentially some remunerated roles (e.g. when we receive budget for event facilitation and workshop delivery).
The EOI process is the same for both opportunities - you can complete this just here: Join the Integrity Initiative Team! – Fill in form
What about when the EOI is completed?
Successful casual volunteers can expect a short call with a welcome package
Aspiring Army members can expect a slightly more in-depth interview (with the option to have questions ahead of time) and a discussion about role alignment, then will receive a welcome package if successful, alongside a brief training/trial period.
Organisations, individuals and communities: partner with Integrity
If you are part of a community, organisation, health service or club that might like to collaborate (in ANY way - be that receiving care packages, hosting a workshop, co-developing a program, hosting an event… you name it), we now have a simple and streamlined way to do so! Three simple steps:
The first step is to complete a ten-minute form to get the brain ticking:
If we are also keen to partner, we will then be in contact with you based on your initial form.
We have three documents that we may then complete together, including:
Logo use and statement of support - if an organisation just wants to provide a statement of support and be featured on our website
Partnering with Integrity - slightly more in-depth, giving a little more context to what type of engagement is appropriate. This only needs to be completed once.
Working Together Agreement - which is more in-depth and will typically constitute a more formal conversation. It allows us to detail exactly what ways we might like to partner. This is specific to each project/ collaboration.
If you have any questions, you can reach out to rachael@integrityinitiative.com.au
We look forward to working with you!
Caring With Integrity
Caring With Integrity took a slightly different approach this month. Instead of the usual focus on hospitals and Health Service Organisations, I delivered a small batch of care packages to a group of advocates - yup, I took ten envelopes with me on a trip to Melbourne, wrote custom letters, and gave them out to my fellow advisory group members.
Stretch and Learn (Trail of Integrity)
The Trail of Integrity held its second workshop this month, Stretch and Learn at Earth Point Evolution. It hosted wonderful discussions around the history of diet culture (and how it has stemmed from its ineffable ability to profit off shame and fear), and how we can collectively move instead towards neutrality, acceptance and the reality that health can and does exist at every size.
The workshop was an opportunity to rebel, reflect, reconsider and connect with like-minded folks, and more so a pause to check in. At a time in which society is re-entering a terrifyingly dark place in its glorification of thinness and the so-called “ozempification” of Hollywood, it was refreshing to say the least.
A huge thank you to all who came along, especially Sophie from the Integrity Army, my reliable go-to-gal, and Elaine Ashurst for facilitating a peaceful, relaxing and deeply refreshing yoga session.
This workshop was possible as part of the Trail of Integrity, a workshop trail delivering a series of 5 original workshops throughout Walyalup over 2026, made possible through the City of Fremantle’s Community Small Grants Program.
The Trail of Integrity has completed two workshops to date and has three upcoming over the remainder of the year. These include:
Talk About Talking in June
Integral Language in August
Compassionate Creation in October
You can find out more about each of these very soon.
Book your own workshop!
Express interest for your VERY OWN Integrity Initiative workshop here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ugIA263uJkKBaiAp22EEOf2gFmzzmNpIkpZiLkTMiG5UMUVUMzJUSkcxWkowTlZVSkxCTURDQUcyUi4u
Our workshops are not traditional training sessions. They are facilitated experiences grounded in lived experience, designed to shift how people think, feel, and act in relation to mental health. Highly customisable, always interactive, and unconventionally creative, they bring together storytelling, systemic insight, and practical reflection to support more human, safe, and effective approaches to mental health across communities, clinical settings, and workplaces.
Unfiltered for Youth Week
Wednesday, 15th of April was a wonderful night of connection, community and belonging. Thank you to all the stallholders, community members, library staff, and organisations that came along to share a slightly different take on ‘strength in our stories’.
The event included a screening of Unfiltered alongside 15 market stalls, wonderful networking, and a panel discussion with Zoe Diakoloukas, Eva Cocks, Jacob Gaitskell and Lily Gresele.
I won’t waffle too much about it (you can read more below), but I will say this…
Creating spaces where people can truly be seen will forever be my favourite part of Integrity Initiative and advocacy more broadly.
LinkedIn post:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-burns-0bab68309/
International Integrity
On Thursday the 9th of April, I spoke to an incredible group of young people over in the Philippines about all things youth advocacy and mental health. They showed me the universality of mental health concerns and human rights… because wherever humans exist, parallel experiences of being a human will also exist.
Thank you to the beautiful souls who welcomed me, listened, and engaged generously, authentically, and wholeheartedly.
Women Deliver 2026
Women Deliver is a leading global advocacy organisation and the world’s largest conference dedicated to gender equality, health, and the rights of girls and women.
As part of the Orygen Global ASEAN Pacific Youth Mental Health Fellowship, I was invited to facilitate a co-branded Integrity Initiative x Orygen workshop on wellbeing in advocacy and burnout.
You might think you know what this session involved, but it was not your typical take on “self-care.” Instead, we explored the models underpinning and often undermining advocacy, including the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle dynamics of discrimination and paternalism, particularly for young people and those who are not cisgender men.
I am really excited that this workshop will now inform a core Integrity Initiative session on burnout and self-care, unpacking these ideas beyond surface-level conversations.
As for the conference itself, it did not all go smoothly. Due to registration issues, I was turned away twice. Thankfully, I did get my pass in time to facilitate what was a genuinely meaningful session on burnout, just not in the way you might expect.
You can read more about it in the follow-on article I published; ‘The Right To Burn Out: My Burnout Doesn’t Concern You (or Me)’
Tech Policy Design Institute
It is a great privilege to be one of three Youth Ambassadors in the Tech Policy Design Institute’s inaugural cohort. This program is designed to empower young leaders to deconstruct technology policy into content that is accessible, interactive and engaging to all.
An exciting part of this involves hosting an international virtual assembly in September this year. Though nothing is confirmed yet, I recommend you keep some time free on Tuesday, 22nd September!
So thrilled to be working alongside Bianca Kendrick and George Trigenis on this - two wonderful and ridiculously accomplished professionals and (more importantly) fantastic humans.
You can learn more about the program here: https://techpolicy.au/nextgen
Random thing that I want to talk about
I made new Integrity Initiative fonts from my own handwriting! How cool is this!!!!
New members of the Integrity Army
We have three new Integrity Army members; Avie O’Neill, Hazel Clark, and Jessi Townley! It is an absolute honour to have such passionate, powerful and just generally remarkable humans join the team as we grow.
Avie (she/they/he) is originally from Aotearoa, New Zealand but has lived in Australia since they were 12. They are passionate about mental health, art and advocacy drawing upon from their own lived experience. Lived experience is embedded in the work that Avie does.
Hazel (she/her) is an Integrity Army Member from Borloo and a psychology student. She cares about creating an inclusive space where people feel heard and accepted. Drawing on lived experience, she brings empathy, curiosity and genuine interest to support people in being their authentic selves and in embracing connection within communities
Jessi (she/her) is an intersectional advocate and activist from Borloo Whadjuk Noongar immersing in diverse sectors from disability, mental-health, youth, LGBTQIA+, neurodiversity, information sciences and community development. As an Integrity Initiative army member, she aspires to utilise both lived experience and professional expertise to not inspire others but empower them.
I want to genuinely extend a really special note of appreciation to the Army this month - we have really banded together and come to find a sense of harmony, I love these people deeply with all my heart - they are the ones who keep the passion alive. Thank you all so much!
Slay Takeaways
African clawed frogs were historically used as pregnancy tests. A person’s urine would be injected into the frog, and if pregnant, the frog would lay eggs. This is because a pregnant person’s urine contains high levels of the hormone hCG, which, when injected into the female frog, triggers it to lay eggs within 5 to 12 hours
This test was up to 99.8% accurate!
Fascinating stuff.
Take care froglets,
Rachael and the Integrity Army
Join the Ingetrity Army
Be apart of our growing team
