our story.
The roots of TNN run deep in personal experience.
Co-founders Ben and Jack met in 2015, marked by shared stories of grief, laid the foundation for our mission. Jack had lost his dad a few years prior, while Ben’s father battled brain cancer.
It was in Ben’s barber chair that their stories came together, becoming the start of an unexpected friendship.
Jack, seeking a way to ease his anxiety, went away on a retreat. During this period, the retreat leaders suggested that he speak to more people about his grief. When he returned, Ben and Jack went for dinner and decided to host what would become the very first grief peer support meeting that we call Good Grief.
Details were shared on Instagram, and on 21 May 2018, they launched the first Good Grief meeting in London. That day, just seven people came together and spoke openly about grief and dealing with their loss.
From that defining moment, the reach of meetings has grown significantly.
When COVID-19 hit, virtual meetings emerged. As a result, individuals attended from all four corners of the world. Our support groups have grown to meet specific needs, embracing students, LGBTQ+, young carers, and complicated grief, to name a few. We have also created dedicated spaces for mental health: Girls Talk and Boys Talk.
Hong Kong.
Dealing with the loss of her father during the pandemic, Jess became a volunteer at TNN UK. Prior to her involvement with TNN, Jess faced challenges in seeking mental health support within the UK’s public system, where she was told wait times are long unless you are in a crisis. When she found TNN, she started attending their virtual peer support meetings. She said; ‘I soon realised that all I needed was someone to tell me they had, at one point, felt the same, and it would get better.'
In the summer of 2021, Jess moved to Hong Kong and was curious to see if people here faced the same issues she experienced in the UK. Coincidence brought her to Désirée. A question came from Désirée: ‘as a non Cantonese speaker with bright blonde hair, how do you intend to break the mental health stigma here in Hong Kong?’ This question marked the beginning of a shared mission.
TNN HK held its first Good Grief Hong Kong on 24 January 2022, and we expanded to host many groups ranging from grief and mental health to, students, and breakups. In July 2023, we proudly introduced our first-of-its-kind free, Cantonese mental health peer support group 好心程 with the hope to de-stigmatise mental health challenges and introduce accessible support.
We are now a registered S88 charity 91/19147.
our story.
TNN 的誔生根植於個人經歷。創辦人 Ben 和 Jack 於 2015 年相識，他們互相分享了悲傷的故事，為我們的使命奠定了基礎。 Jack幾年前失去了父親，而Ben的父親當時則與腦癌搏鬥中。 那時正正是在Ben的理髮椅上，他們的故事交織在一起，最終成為一段意想不到的友誼的開始。
Jack為了尋找緩解焦慮的方法，所以就去靜修了。 在此期間，靜修領袖建議他向更多的人訴說他的悲痛。 當他回來時，Ben和Jack一起晚飯，並決定舉辦第一次關於悲傷的朋輩支援會議，亦即是我們的“Good Grief”。詳細信息已在 Instagram 上分享，並於 2018 年 5 月 21 日在倫敦發起了首次 Good Grief 會議。 當天，只有七個人聚集在一起，他們開放地談論悲傷和他們如何面對損失。
從那個決定性時刻開始，我們的朋輩小組影響範圍顯著擴大。
當新冠來襲時，網上會議應運而生，世界不同角落的人都參加了會議。 我們的支援小組不斷壯大，以滿足特定需求，包括：學生、LGBTQ+、年輕護理人員和複雜的悲傷等等，我們還創建了專門的心理健康空間：Girls Talk 和 Boys Talk。
香港
Jess 經歷疫情期間失去父親的痛苦後，她成為了英國TNN的一名義工。 加入 TNN 前，Jess 曾在英國公共系統內尋求心理健康支援時面臨著挑戰，她被告知除非遇到危機，否則等待時間會很長。 當她找到 TNN ，她開始參與他們的網上朋輩支援會議。Jess說：“我很快意識到，我需要的只是有人告訴我，他們曾經有過同樣的經歷，而且情況會好轉。”
2021 年夏天，Jess搬到了香港，她好奇這裡的人是否也面臨著她在英國曾遇到的同樣問題。 機緣巧合讓她遇見了Désirée，這次見面改變了她們的人生軌跡。 Désirée 提出了一個既是挑戰又是邀請的問題：“作為一個有著一頭金色頭髮且不會說廣東話的人，你打算如何打破香港心理健康的污名？”這個問題標誌著共同使命的開始。
TNN HK 於 2022 年 1 月 24 日在香港舉辦了第一次的 Good Grief，之後我們擴大到許多不同的領域，從悲傷和心理健康到學生問題和分手。 在2023年7月我們引以為傲的推出了首個免費的廣東話心理健康朋輩支持小組，希望消除大眾對心理健康的污名化，並使大眾更容易獲得心理健康服務。
我們現在是註冊的 S88 慈善機構 91/19147。