Every New Year we make resolutions with the best intentions, there’s something about the promise of a fresh start and a clean slate that makes us set them every year.

New Year Resolutions often revolve around our health –  getting fit, losing weight, stopping smoking –  but how about this year you follow the “5 ways to Wellbeing”?

2017 could be your time to take responsibility for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.

By adopting these 5 Simple Steps you can increase your life expectancy by up to 7.5 years.

1. connect

2. be active

3. take notice

4. keep learning

5. give

• Connect – connect with the people around you: your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Spend time developing these relationships.
• Be active – you don’t have to go to the gym. Take a walk, go cycling or play a game of football. Find an activity that you enjoy and make it a part of your life.
• Keep learning – learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and a new confidence. So why not sign up for that cooking course, start learning to play a musical instrument, or figure out how to fix your bike?
• Give to others – even the smallest act can count, whether it’s a smile, a thank you or a kind word. Larger acts, such as volunteering at your local community centre, can improve your mental wellbeing and help you build new social networks.
• Be mindful – be more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you. Some people call this awareness “mindfulness”. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.

The Five Ways to wellbeing were developed by the New Economics Foundation. You can download the Take 5 poster here.

Yesterday Communities Minister, Paul Givan announced new contracts with the lead providers of Workable (NI), the Executive’s disability employment programme.

Workable (NI) supports people with a range of disabilities to secure and retain paid jobs across every employment sector throughout Northern Ireland. The programme is currently supporting almost 700 employees.

While the Workable (NI) programme has been running for the past 10 years, new contracts have been awarded to three lead providers to deliver the programme over the next five years.The three lead providers are: Disability Action; Ulster Supported Employment and Learning (Usel); and Supported Employment Solutions (SES), a consortium of seven local disability organisations, of which Action Mental Health is the joint lead.

The Minister said

“This new phase of the Workable NI Programme has increased flexibilities regarding hours of employment and levels of support on offer. Ensuring disabled people are afforded their right to work is a priority. I wish Disability Action, Supported Employment Solutions and Ulster Supported Employment and Learning, continued success with the programme and reaffirm our commitment to working in partnership to ensure the programme grows from strength to strength.”

The lead providers will provide teams of dedicated and specialist employment officers, who will work with individuals who are seeking employment or those who are in work, but experiencing real difficulties due to their disability. They also offer tailored support to the host employer, including disability training for staff, mentoring support and input into the employee’s performance review process.

One of the participants of Workable NI, Gillian Fowler said:

“I have benefited greatly from a range of support mechanisms including intervention around reasonable adjustments, encouragement and workplace training for colleagues and ensuring job security through a change in employer. I do not feel I would have secured this or been so successful in my current employment without Workable and Disability Action’s support.”

Gillian is working as a Customer Assistant for Marks and Spencer.

SES Supported Employment Solutions partnership is made up of seven disability organisations from across N Ireland who have come together to deliver Workable (NI) Programmes across the Region.

The seven partners are Action Mental Health, Cedar, Action on Hearing Loss, Mencap, NOW, The Orchardville Society, RNIB, for more information http://www.sesni.org.uk.

Action Mental Health has launched its new mental health promotion programme for Primary Schools called ‘Healthy Me’. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing amongst Key Stage 2 children in the school setting, and provide them with the skills, coping strategies and resilience to prevent poor mental health.. The programme was launched at Carrick Primary School in Lurgan by Action Mental Health Chief Executive David Babington who said that the programme will help prepare primary school children for the stresses of transfer test and big changes in their educational life,

“Transition from primary to secondary school is a particularly stressful time for children and we believe that targeting the programme at P6/P7 children will help them cope with this transition. This approach is consistent with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence public health guidance which highlights that ‘children’s social and emotional well-being affects not only their mental health but also their physical health and can determine how well they do at school’. Modern life is stressful and can impact on mental health, so implementing strategies for protecting children from stress and helping them learn to cope with change is an extremely positive influence on their young lives. We hope to see the programme adopted across Northern Ireland in the not too distant future.”

Sinn Fein MLA Catherine Seeley who sits on both the Health and Education Committees at Stormont attended launch and warmly welcomed the initiative,

“As a former teacher I understand the importance of improving the mental well-being of our young people. We must ensure our young people feel confident enough to speak out and to discuss their emotions. Transitioning to secondary school can be life changing for a young person so I particularly welcome this programmes emphasis on transition.”

Alison Lindsay, Principal at Carrick PS, looks forward to the finalised Programme being rolled out. ‘

We know that the ‘Healthy Me’ resource will help our staff to identify at an early stage those children who are experiencing mental distress and provide sources of support by working with other agencies. We firmly believe this programme will improve children’s emotional literacy, Promote equality of mental health with physical health and support children as they move from primary to secondary school.”

A range of topics are covered using a mixture of games, small-group activities and discussion, including:

• What is health?
• Healthy body, healthy minds.
• .Coping strategies and accessing help.

The programme aims to promote awareness of emotional wellbeing and positive mental health, to provide teachers with basic training in promoting social and emotional wellbeing, and to encourage help-seeking behaviour among children and help them to identify sources of support.

Healthy Me emerged from the recognition of an unmet need in local primary schools. It was developed using modified elements of the secondary school mental health promotion programme run by AMH MensSana (Provoking Thought) and drawing on existing evidence based initiatives to promote emotional health and wellbeing among the 7–11 year old age group. The programme is delivered as an interactive workshop to Year 6 and Year 7 pupils.

Healthy Me has been developed in Northern Ireland through a collaboration between Action Mental Health (AMH) MensSana, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (NI) Public Engagement Committee (RCPsych NI) and Step 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

We were delighted to be joined by pupils and staff from St Oliver Plunkett School, Belfast who have participated in the Healthy Me Programme and made this amazing video about their experience!

The Brownlow Festival Committee, who organise the annual Brownlow Festival held a cheque presentation ceremony last week to celebrate the committee’s fundraising efforts. The festival’s designated charity this year was Action Mental Health (AMH).

Over 1000 visitors enjoyed taking part in the  week long festival  which ran from 27^th August to 3rd September.  The extensive programme of activities included a fantastic fun day at the Brownlow Hub, an art exhibition, a relaxing picnic at Moyraverty Centre; a nostalgic vintage tea dance and a tasty cookery demonstration!

Generous attendees made donations which amounted to an impressive £435.

Mr Gerry McIlroy, Chair of the Festival Committee explained why they had chosen Action Mental Health as the beneficiary charity:

“The issue of mental health is sometimes hidden. It is important to recognise that mental ill-health can happen to anyone at any time and Brownlow Festival Committee is proud to support this worthy cause”

Specifically, the festival organisers were keen for the money raised to be spent locally to highlight and support this important cause.

Fittingly, AMH Fundraising and Events Officer, Callum Clark announced that the funds would be allocated to the charity’s ‘New Horizons’ Service in Craigavon and Banbridge.

Callum stated “We cannot thank the members of the Brownlow Festival Committee and its visitors enough for choosing Action Mental Health to benefit from their efforts and kind donations”.

He continued, “AMH New Horizons helps people to overcome the effects of mental ill-health and in many cases return to work. Our Craigavon and Banbridge Service offers a range of recognised qualifications, training, personal development programmes, social and recreational activities. This donation will benefit local people who are on the path to recovery from mental ill-health”.