When Adelaide AFLW Premiership player Hannah Munyard is asked to describe her late mother, Teresea, her answer is “of course”.
“My Mum was a beautiful, warm, encouraging and supportive mum to me and my three siblings. She was my biggest supporter,” Munyard said.
“We grew up in the country and had a bit of property, she loved horses, the outdoors, the beach especially.
“Her ashes are laid out off the Port Noarlunga jetty, that was our closest beach and that was her favourite place, she loved snorkelling and being outdoors.
“She became sick when I was 16, so for the first 16 years of my life she was completely healthy and we didn’t hear of her struggles.”
But it wasn’t always that easy for Munyard to talk about her mum, after she passed away after a long battle with mental health in April, 2020.
“I’ve found it really hard to speak about,” Munyard said.
“But I’ve come to realise that by speaking, I can bring others hope. It’s about sharing my story for others who have lost family and friends, and I want them to know they aren’t alone.
“I’m finally in a really healthy and good place where I feel like I can impact people and make something good come out of something really horrible.
“I think Mum probably felt as if she couldn’t speak up about how she was feeling, so I’m really passionate about encouraging people to speak up about what’s really going on.”
And that is a big reason why Munyard has collaborated with Seeing Double – a clothing label created by teammate Maddi Newman and twin sister Hallie – to help create awareness around mental illness.
Seeing Double, with Munyard’s help, has designed a ‘Purple Hood’ to honour Teresea’s legacy, and raise vital funds for Breakthrough – Australia’s leading mental health research foundation.
“Two years ago we did a 9km walk on suicide prevention day – September 10 – and we had about 50 people with us walking along the esplanade and we had everyone wearing purple.
“We kind of thought ‘how cool would it be if we had everyone wearing the same hoodie?’
“The timing probably wasn’t right back then, but about two months ago we got a sample hoodie, and we just loved it so much, so we decided to go with it, so Hallie and I started working on designs.
“Hallie and Maddi have been my closest friends – Maddi is my partner – but they’ve been with me through my entire journey from when mum was initially unwell and in-and-out of hospital, so it means a lot to me that they’ve wanted to be a part of this.”
There are many elements to the ‘Purple Hood’; including ‘for her, for you, for us’ and a love heart traced onto the sleeves, as well as 1970 – the year Teresea was born – on the front.
Munyard explained why those details, plus the colour, were very special inclusions.
“Hallie and I spent a fair bit of time working out how we could somehow get Mum’s handwriting on the hoodie, so we traced a letter that I had and scanned it back to the computer, using each letter to create the sentences,” Munyard said.
“Purple was her favourite colour, she always wanted a purple car, would have a purple drink bottle, purple phone case, she loved it so much and it’s one of my favourite colours.
“We were also able to trace the live heart which is on the other side of the sleeve, that love heart was on every card that she ever gave me.”
Munyard said she hoped anyone struggling with mental health felt comfortable enough to speak up and seek support from their family and friends.
“I’m really passionate about breaking the stigma of mental health and it being something that’s not normal to be feeling certain things,” Munyard said.
“I want people to know it is entirely normal… I’ve realised the importance of leaning on my friends and family and speaking up, so that’s the main advice I would give.”
The ‘Purple Hood’ is available for pre-order until 11.59pm on Wednesday, August 27, through the link here.
If you need someone to talk to:
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636