HSE Ascain Celebrates World Mental Health Day with Transition Year Students in Letterkenny

On Friday 10 October, HSE Ascain Training & Support Service celebrated World Mental Health Day with Transition Year students in Letterkenny. HSE Ascain Training & Support Service provides person centred training and support for adults (18-65 years) in recovery from mental ill health. The service has locations in Letterkenny, Carndonagh and Dungloe.

HSE Ascain invited Transition Year students from the four secondary schools in Letterkenny, Coláiste Ailigh, Loreto Convent, St Eunan’s College and Errigal College to come together and celebrate World Mental Health Day with HSE Ascain service users and staff. To mark the day HSE Ascain and the Transition Year students worked in collaboration to devise a project called “Walk in my Shoes”, whereby every student, service user and staff member were asked to design a pair of shoes that depicts what mental health means to them.

On World Mental Health Day students, services users and staff met at the Vestry, St Conal’s Campus Letterkenny at 10:30am, all wearing their custom-made shoes to the event. After a warm welcome by HSE Ascain staff they proceeded to make their way to the Bernard McGlinchey Town Park where they walked two laps around the park wearing the designer shoes.

The aim in joining together with the youth to celebrate this day was to encourage empathy, breaking stigma, opening conversations, reaching out for help and the promotion of emergency services line with the theme of World Mental Health Day for this year, which is “Access to Services in times of Emergency and Catastrophe.”

After the walk, all returned to the Vestry where services that may be needed in the case of emergency promoted what they offer and how they can be accessed by displaying stands around the hall. The new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse Underage (SCAN U) service that was launched recently for the 16 plus age group took opportunity to address the TY students in the hall and promote this vital service.

All attendees were invited to leave their reflections about the day, the whole process of making the shoes and gathering their thoughts about what Mental Health means to them. There were some very interesting and colourful shoes, all with deep and profound meaning for the designers/wearers. HSE Ascain would like to thank all of those who took part in today’s event and to everyone for their tremendous artistic efforts.