£3 MILLION LOTTERY BOOST TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH

A consortium of Northern Ireland organisations has today been awarded a major Lottery contract to promote positive mental health in Northern Ireland.

The Big Lottery Fund has awarded a contract worth £3 million to the Together for You partnership, which for the first time brings together the services of eight support organisations under a joint banner.

The project which is being led by Action Mental Health (AMH) in association with Aware Defeat Depression, CAUSE, CRUSE, MindWise, Nexus, PraxisCare and Relate NI, will promote mental health and well being in Northern Ireland and provide a range of services in new and innovative ways.

Together for You will raise awareness of positive mental health and encourage early intervention and provide intensive support services for people experiencing mental ill health.

For the first time, a co-ordinated approach across the eight organisations will support activities in each of the five Health and Social Care Trust areas.

Activities over the next three years will include working with school mental health promotion, activities that promote well being in older people, campaigns to reduce the stigma and discrimination of mental health, suicide/self harm and bereavement support initiatives and improved psychological therapies.

Joanne McDowell, the Big Lottery Fund’s Northern Ireland Director, said:

“We are delighted to be working with the Together for You partnership to promote positive mental health in Northern Ireland.

Joanne added:

“We are excited that these eight organisations, all with a huge amount of experience in the field of mental health, have come together for the first time to deliver a programme of activity that will make a major difference to the lives of many across Northern Ireland.  We look forward to working with them and sharing the learning and best practice from this partnership.”

David Babington, Chief Executive of Action Mental Action, said:

“All partners in the Together for You partnership are really excited about coming together in this joint project to provide a wide range of mental health services. The partnership has an agreed vision for the collective delivery of a holistic, person-centred and community-based model of service which starts with building resilience in individuals and communities through to the co-ordination and sharing of best practice. We are determined to make a meaningful difference for clients throughout the region by working differently, innovatively and in a seamless way.”

If you would like to be part of this exciting new project we are currently recruiting!

Issues surrounding disability, mental health issues and the law were the focus of a unique seminar, organised by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and supported by Action Mental Health.

The seminar is the third instalment of seminars entitled ‘Diversity and the Law’ which has been launched by the Society to examine the impact of the law on issues such as disability in Northern Ireland.

The seminar on disability and mental health issues provided a platform to discuss the issues, to inform audiences unfamiliar with the main issues and to share best practices.

Representatives from various interest groups, Government agencies and members of the legal profession attended the seminar with a view to identifying issues of concern and sharing of best practice amongst organisations.

Amongst attendees was the Minister for Justice, David Ford MLA.

Commenting on the President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Michael Robinson said:

“The Society has been working over the last number of months to develop the new Diversity series which we believe will provide discussion and debate on the impact of the law and issues such as mental health and disability.

It is timely that these seminars are taking place in light of the on-going impact of the economic recession, cuts to Government budgets, benefits and services and the implications for the law and access to justice in Northern Ireland”.

David Babington, Chief Executive of Action Mental Health said:

“Mental Health issues and disability affect many people within our community and we welcomes the Society’s initiative which gives a platform to support organisations and representative to share best practices and information”.

The series of seminars are scheduled to last until November 2013 with an examination of the Section 75 classifications including age and race.

AMH New Horizons opened in Foyle twenty years ago, and to celebrate this milestone, they threw a huge party and challenged everyone to take part in the AMH Firewalk! Local radio station Q105 broadcasted live from the event with some of our staff and clients being interviewed about the work of AMH. We also had live music, birds of prey, circus performers, and a BBQ!  Happy Birthday AMH New Horizons Foyle!

All the photos from the day can be found on our Facebook page.