Youth In Action are working with Fermanagh & Omagh District Council the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and the UEFA Foundation and local partners, such as Action Mental Health, in Northern Ireland to train young people as Youth Leaders to help shape their communities.

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Our AMH MensSana Project Worker – Michael was invited to deliver AMH’s Mindset programme yesterdayenniskillen to a group of young people who have completed an Open College Network qualification in Youth leadership, and are currently completing their Community Sports Leaders Award.

Mindset is a Mental & Emotional Health & Wellbeing Awareness programme for young people and is funded by the Public Health Agency.

Michael was joined by special guest Paul Canoville – a former professional footballer who played on the wing for Chelsea Football Club. Paul spoke openly and candidly about his own struggles with mental health and addiction. Also speaking during the Mindset session was Inspector Andy George (PSNI Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit and President of the National Black Police Association.) 

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Find out more about our Mindset Programme here.

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The Rio Ferdinand Foundation is a youth and community development charity. They work in the heart of the UKs most disadvantaged communities, supporting young people (aged 10-25), to tackle the inequalities they face.

They create opportunities and pathways for young people to achieve their potential, through sports, media, arts and education.

https://www.rioferdinandfoundation.com/

AMH New Life Counselling is running art therapy information nights for the Deaf and HoH. The sessions will provide participants with an introduction and a taster to art therapy. 

The details are as follows:

Introduction to Art Therapy Information Night for Deaf and HoH

Wednesday 25th Aug

Wednesday 1st Sep

Wednesday 8th Sept

7-8pm at AMH, Bloomfield House, Belfast

If anyone is interested they must register their interest to [email protected]

Congratulations to the hard-working clients at AMH New Horizons Downpatrick who haven’t let the past turbulent year of the Covid-19 pandemic get in their way of their personal development and career progress.

Clients who attend the service achieved certificates in a variety of courses on the Working It Out project, which is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.

The client certificate presentation took place with the help of a grant from the Asda Foundation-Bringing Communities Together scheme, with the day being made extra special by a visit from some four-footed, furred friends from Kinedale Donkeys, based in Ballynahinch. Delicious refreshments were provided by Cafe2U in Belfast.

Clients achieved a number of ECDL (European Computer Driving License), British Computer Society certificates, plus OCNNI (Open College Network) courses in Personal Development, Employability Skills and Learning Endeavour. Others received NVQ awards in Customer Service Skills.

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One of Action Mental Health’s senior managers has offered insight into the experiences of those living with schizophrenia, following BBC soap EastEnders’ storyline on a character living with the mental illness.

Colin Loughran, Service Manager with AMH New Horizons Craigavon & Banbridge, AMH everyBODY, and AMH MensSana, previously worked for 12 years as a service manager for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship, now Rethink.

During an interview on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme, when a local woman living with the condition offered her experiences, Mr Loughran also spoke of the ‘sensitive’ way in which the television show had treated the sensitive issue.

He said popular shows like Eastenders helped to “create better awareness” and helped to “give opportunities to organisations like Action Mental Health to create better education among individuals and society”.

Mr Loughran said shows like this work well to address stigma. “And the stigma is one of the biggest reasons why people who experience issues do not seek the support that they need, so it encourages people who experience severe and enduring mental illness to talk about their experiences and then get the subsequent support that they can get from statutory services or from organisations like Action Mental Health.”

To hear the full interview, listen from around 55:30 minutes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000yc81

Staff from the physiotherapy department at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) have been inspired by the summer Olympics in Tokyo to get fit and active this August, in aid of Action Mental Health.

This Thankful Thursday, Action Mental Health applauds the generosity of staff who have challenged themselves to increase their activity levels, whether by walking, running, swimming, cycling, gardening – or by any preferred physical pastime. 

During the 31 days of August, staff aim to collectively complete a total of 5,869 miles – the distance between Belfast and Tokyo. 

A whopping 450 physiotherapists are taking part in the fundraiser for Action Mental Health, as part of a wider physical activity challenge during August championed by ‘WeAhps’ – a Twitter community of health professionals – where the group will also be posting about their progress.

One of the group commented: “As physiotherapists we are acutely aware of the problems associated with increasing levels of sedentary behaviour and the benefits we can get from increasing our physical activity levels – including benefits to our mental health. To this end we thought that your charity was a really suitable and worthy cause to champion and we decided to select Action Mental Health as one of the charities we wanted to support.”

The other organisation benefiting from the mammoth effort is The Mary Peters Trust. 

“Our aim is to increase our own physical activity levels throughout August any way we can – increasing awareness of the importance of physical activity among staff, patients and the general public. This may be through daily walks, every day activities like gardening, Park Runs or other formal exercise opportunities,” the spokesperson added.

Head of Communications & Fundraising at Action Mental Health, Jonathan Smyth commented: “Being active is a great way to improve our mental health and we are really pleased to see the team from the physiotherapy department at BHSCT taking on this challenge. We are delighted that they have chosen Action Mental Health to receive the funds they raise through their active endeavour. We wish them well as they prepare to raise their game next month.’