GROW Midland Region will organise the Gatekeepers' Community Education Programme in the Darmagh Community Centre, "Lann Elo" Clontarf Road Tullamore on Tuesdays from 7.30pm to 9.30pm for six weeks from September 28th to November 2nd inclusive.  The programme is run in conjunction with the HSE.  The course is open to interested adults and is free of charge

GROW in Ireland will host a media launch for a new booklet of young adult stories called “You Can Do It, But You Can’t Do It Alone”. The launch will be taking place in Buswells Hotel during World Mental Health Week 11th-15th October.
The Booklet will be aimed at the 15-25yr age group.

11th October 2010
Buswells Hotel, Molesworth St. Dublin

Front row: Maree Anderson, Mary Greene GROW Regional Manager, and Caroline Anderson

Back row: Martina Lowe, Mary Flanagan (GROW) Helena Anderson, Catherina Norris, and Rachael Mooney

On Wednesday 2nd June GROW in  The Midlands under the Comhairle Chontae Uibh Fhaili The Chairman’s Community Awards 2010

were awarded first place in the section “Promoting Positive Mental Health in Offaly. 

Mary Donlon chairperson of GROW in the Midlands accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

Kate Maloney, a 27 year old graphic designer from Gold Coast Australia was drawn to Strandhill, Co. Sligo, a picturesque village situated about 5 miles west of Sligo City, because of its fabulous surfing.

The former bodyboarding champion, will navigate home in May, without using a single plane, planning to complete 8,600km of the 16,000km on her bicyle. The rest of the journey will be completed by using train and boat.

“I want to see beautiful landscapes, so cycling enables me to do that. It's a challenge,” she explained.

She estimates it should take her 6 months to complete, and hopes to raise €100,000 for GROW, and Sustrans, a UK sustainable transport charity whose vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment.

She hopes to encourage others to work together to help protect our environment and way of life, and to create awareness of the mental health issues many people face every day.

Setting out from Strandhill on her bicycle she will get a ferry to France and then cycle into Italy and Greece. Further cycling and ferries will take her to St Petersburg, where she hopes to catch the trans-Siberian train, cycling again from Beijing to Hong Kong, where she will eventually catch a freight ship to Brisbane.

If you would like to support Kates cause or check her progress please visit her website http://www.katescycle.com

GROW is one of the official charities of  the Waterways Ireland Triathlon event this year.  The event will take place between Thursday 1 July and Sunday 4 July 2010.

Sponsorship packs are available from the GROW Office in Swords, contact details 01 840 8236. or  fundraising@grow.ie

A major new campaign aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental health problems has been launched.

The campaign, ‘See Change’, is being supported by a number of Government departments and related organisations, including the HSE, the Department of Health, the National Office for Suicide Prevention, the Disability Authority, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland, Amnesty International, Bodywhys, Grow and Mental Health Ireland.

Working in partnership, these organisations are hoping to bring about positive change in public attitudes and behaviour towards people with mental health problems.

Speaking at the launch of ‘See Change’, John Moloney, Junior Minister for Disability and Mental Health, said that stigma ‘has no place in Irish society’.

“It damages people’s lives and can be deeply hurtful and isolating and is one of the most significant problems encountered by people with mental health problems. It can also be distressing for the families and friends of those persons,” he explained.

The aim of this new campaign is to:
-Reduce the stigma associated with mental health problems and challenge discrimination.
-Create an environment where people are more open and positive in their attitudes and behaviour towards mental health.
-Promote a greater understanding and acceptance of and support for people with mental health problems.
-Empower individual people with experience of mental health problems to gain equality, respect and rights.

A network of national and local organisations across the country will carry the anti-stigma message through local broadcasts, local print media and a range of other activities.

The campaign will run for at least two years. It is hoped that by the end of this period, people with mental health problems will find it easier to participate as valued members of society with access to meaningful employment, appropriate housing and positive interpersonal relationships.

“Eliminating the stigma associated with mental ill health will not happen overnight. However the ‘See Change’ campaign has the potential to affect change within Irish society and help lay the necessary foundations for a real and positive transformation of how mental illness is perceived,” Minister Moloney added.

A competition to provide a slogan for the ‘See Change’ campaign or ideas to bring about changes in public attitudes and behaviour has also been launched. The winning entry will receive €5,000.

For more information on the campaign and competition, click on http://www.seechange.ie

For more information on depression, see our Clinic here