HealthMatters/September, 2014
9
UCC SAMH Society is a new student-led initiative aimed at changing and renewing discussion of the broad issue of mental health on campus and further afield. The society is comprised of a group of students whose experiences have both emphasised the importance of good mental health infrastructure, and highlighted the flaws in Ireland’s approach to such issues.
The society’s objectives for the year comprise a range of events and education initiatives, as well as campaigns aimed at improving the provision of support to those struggling in Ireland. The year will begin with a small memorial service in which we hope to provide a place for staff and students come together and light a candle for a loved one who has struggled or is continuing
to deal with mental health issues. This event
will also be a venue to tap into the wants
and needs of the staff and student body with
regards to mental health.
We intend to do what we can to challenge outdated treatment of those struggling with mental health, to further highlight that the funding provided to mental health services does not reflect the urgent need for their improvement and to discuss the often insensitive portrayal of suicide in the media, contradictory to the Samaritans
media guidelines (www.samaritans.org).
Throughout the year we hope to focus on a particular
issue each week, for example anxiety, positive body
image and so on, and direct our events and social
media towards that topic. A large part of what we
hope to do is to share personal stories of students
and staff who are living with a mental health
condition to increase understanding and acceptance
of a variety of issues on campus. We will also promote
known education initiative, such as the popular
“Darkness Into Light” and the Pieta House “Mind
Your Men” campaign. At the moment Ireland ranks 4th
in the world for suicide rates among young men between
18-24, suggesting that the importance of the college tackling
depression and suicidal thoughts in the student body cannot be
overstated.
Pieta House has just opened a new counselling service in
Cork (Model Farm Road) and have been in touch with
regards to establishing a
novel Buddy System through
which volunteers would be
trained to either accompany
depressed individuals to Pieta services, or even visit the service to make inquiries when a person does not feel capable of attending themselves.
There is a wide array of mental health associations working every day to improve the quality of life of those coping with mental ill-health. While we as a society admire the individual work of each of these associations, we believe that the sheer number of services out there can be bewildering and may hinder an individual’s search for the unique help they need. To counteract this we wish to work on a comprehensive booklet and online site in which the range of services are categorised by age, need and location among other criteria. A comprehensive website dedicated to Student Mental Health will have tabs on all essential services, guest bloggers among students and staff and advice and information on the work of Pieta House and other local mental health associations.
The society is determined to enhance the positive well-being of the student body and UCC staff, and we have a range of ideas for re-connecting individuals with old hobbies, increasing the understanding of mental health and providing an arena for open and un-prejudiced discussion. We are very welcoming to volunteers, new members and new ideas so if you would like to contribute you can find us on Facebook here or email us at [email protected]