Action Mental Health is delighted to be growing its service in Lisburn with the opening of AMH New Horizons Lisburn. Having served the people of Lisburn and surrounding areas from its current hub in the Cutts, Dunmurry, AMH will be moving to Railway Street in Lisburn at the end of September.

The move to Lisburn will provide more space with improved facilities for clients, coupled with better transport access, being close to both local rail and bus services.

AMH New Horizons supports the recovery of adults experiencing mental ill health and provides a comprehensive programme of specialist training in personal development, vocational skills and employability. Clients take part in 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 and the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust

Action Mental Health’s Accept Project was initially established in Railway Street, Lisburn in 1995, before relocating to Derriaghy in 1999. The charity established AMH The Junction for young people in Bridge street in 2001. It too, moved to Derriaghy in 2009 where it merged with Accept to be renamed AMH New Horizons in 2015. The service has continued to grow and develop and the need for bigger premises was clearly evident.

Service Manager Eoin McAnuff said the relocation to Lisburn would eventually offer increased capacity for people in the community experiencing mental ill health, adding that it would also allow many clients to return to face to face services who haven’t enjoyed this since the lockdown began back in March.

“We have been working hard over the last six months running a range of online courses to engage our clients. Recently we reopened the service to a limited number to continue face to face classes to those who needed it most. The move however, will enable us to welcome more clients back who haven’t been with us for six months. This should help improve the health and wellbeing of our clients engaging in our service. It should also pave the way for an increase in capacity in the future.” “We have been actively looking to relocate to larger premises in Lisburn City Centre for quite some time so I am delighted to finally see the move happen as I know how much it will benefit our clients.

Work has been ongoing on the revamp of the Railway Street premises in recent months to enable clients to pursue the vocational and therapeutic courses available through New Horizons.

The coronavirus pandemic will mean the planned opening ceremony will have to be postponed to a later date, clients will however be able to avail of the range of activities on offer immediately.

Our virtual cycling challenge 4^th – 11^th October 2020

Action Mental Health is challenging keen cyclists of all ages and skill levels to clock up as many kilometres as they can in the week of World Mental Health Day, which takes place on 10th October 2020.

Getting active is great for your mental health.

Register Now for our DIY Granite Challenge.

Now more than ever, looking after your mental health as well as your physical health is so important!

AND by taking part you can help raise funds to support our services for local people!

At this time of year, we would normally be getting ready to host our popular Granite Challenge. Whilst we can’t do so this year, our DIY Granite Challenge is an exciting opportunity for our friends in the cycling world (and beyond) to get on their bikes, enjoy the great outdoors and raise vital funds for Action Mental Health.

Many charity sportives have had to be cancelled, so this event is a chance for club riders and others to enjoy the great outdoors, whilst raising funds for Action Mental Health, at a time when our services are seeing increasing demand and our fundraising income has been greatly reduced.

You can REGISTER as an individual or as part of a team (max 5).

Simply set yourself a target distance and get pedalling!

You can clock up your kilometres any time between the 4th- 11th October 2020 and you can do it at a time and place that suits you.

You could even complete the route of our traditional Granite Challenge during the week.

As you plan this activity we will be in regular contact, and look forward to seeing many of our friends and supporters from the cycling world signing up to take part

Registration is now open and it’s incredibly simple to sign up to take part, simply click here to REGISTER

Once you’ve registered and set up your own page, you can share this your own social media channels to track your progress with distance achieved and to take donations from friends and family.

It’s really simple to register as either an individual or a team – just follow the instructions on the REGISTRATION pages.

You can also speak to our fundraising team by emailing [email protected] or by calling 028 9182 8494. They will be happy to help with any registration or fundraising queries.

To help put the fun into fundraising and to make this event as enjoyable as possible, when you register we will send you lots of simple and quick ideas on how to get the very most from your challenge!

We also will be keeping an eye on the leader board, for both the team challenge and individual challenge to see who comes out on top with the most distance covered (not that cyclists are competitive….)!

So please REGISTER today and use your pedal power to support the vital services of Action Mental Health.

Please do remember to adhere to all public health guidance to help keep you and everyone else safe. You can keep up to date on the NI Direct Website.

If you wish to obtain or update your insurance for cycling you can do so by visiting the Cycling Ireland Website.

Thank you.

Not one but two members of Team AMH have been rewarded with a coveted ICE award – heralding their Innovation, Creativity and Excellence.

Skills Coach Sara Millar is one of the recipients to receive an ICE award. A member of Action Mental Health’s peripatetic team working with AMH New Horizons Craigavon & Banbridge, Sara has made an immense contribution to the charity during the lockdown, producing YouTube videos, leading Zoom crafts classes and supporting clients in cooking, gardening and exercising. Meanwhile, she also invested time and energy assisting fellow staff members, one of whom describing her as “inspirational”.

AMH Chairman, Peter Fitzsimons commented: “Sara has displayed remarkable creativity and commitment and we want to thank her for all her efforts for our clients.”

AMH IT Manager, Jonny Cirnaru scooped this year’s second ICE award. When the Covid 19 pandemic hit in March 2020, it quickly became clear that AMH’s traditional way of operating, as a multi-faceted organisation, would alter forever. In response, Jonny led a process of continuing our support, not only to all clients, but also to each individual member of staff within the Recovery, Resilience, Counselling and Business Support teams. Every facet of staff and client engagement and communication was reliant on an IT solution that could be operated through home working and within a remarkably short space of time Jonny came up with the goods.

Mr Fitzsimmons praised Jonny, commenting: “Under Jonny’s guidance and leadership, the IT team procured equipment, sourced all IT solutions and licences and developed help guides for staff. They provided support through the help desk, and as teams used the opportunity for development, the IT department continued to support IT projects moving forward – well done to all!”

This week, as part of the #CovidWellbeingNI Partnership, we have put together some information for those caring and supporting someone with an eating disorder during the coronavirus pandemic.

Action Mental Health’s eating disorder service – AMH everyBODY is based in the Southern Trust area, and aims to promote greater understanding and awareness of eating disorders. We have adopted a recovery approach to provide help and support to people with eating disorders and also to their friends and family. We also advocate and lobby on their behalf, for specialist services. Last year in 2019/2020, AMH everyBODY supported 3,808 people.

Eating disorders are a coping mechanism and stressful situations such as the one we find ourselves in at present can exacerbate behaviours as your loved one may resort to controlling the one thing they know best …. FOOD.

Deborah McCreedy from AMH everyBODY – “As a carer, we understand this can be an extremely scary time for you too. You might be spending more time at home with your loved one and it can be extremely difficult watching them struggle. You may experience feelings of helplessness but please do not underestimate the key role you can play in supporting them through this uncertain time”.

“We have put together some information, to give you some insight as to the thoughts and feelings your loved one might be experiencing right now. This will aid your understanding of how you can best support them and we have included our own tips to help along the way“

“Sometimes you might feel a little out of your depth, and that’s okay, you’re still learning. If you feel you could benefit, we are currently offering telephone and onnline support. Please don’t be afraid to reach out by emailing either Deborah ([email protected]) or Erin ([email protected])”.

Further advice and support can be found on the CovidWellbeing NI website which the AMH is contributing to in partnership with 15 other mental health charities, as well as the Public Health Agency and the Departments for Communities and Health.

Follow us all week on our social media channels for more tips!

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Northern Ireland’s Mental Health Champion has joined Action Mental Health and leading advocates in the field of suicide prevention to mark today’s World Suicide Prevention Day, delivering a message of hope and remembering those lost to suicide.

World Suicide Prevention Day follows an unprecedented phase in modern society when lockdown halted life as we know it and brought challenges to many people right across the world, including here in Northern Ireland.

AMH has produced a short video carrying the message of this year’s theme and also highlighting the range of support that is available to people locally.

Leading the field of mental health and suicide prevention practitioners and campaigners to feature in the video is Professor Siobhan O’Neill, who was this year appointed as Northern Ireland’s first ever interim Mental Health Champion – an appointment which was warmly welcomed by Action Mental Health, after many years of campaigning for the post.

In the short film, she is joined by Órlaithí Flynn, Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention and Sinn Fein’s mental health spokesperson, while Lisa Archibald, Project Co-ordinator with the Families Voices Forum, also adds her voice.

Action Mental Health’s own Colin Loughran and Sarah Grant Jones, make up the team carrying the important message of working together to prevent suicide.

In the year since World Suicide Prevention Day 2019 marked the launch of the Protect Life 2 Strategy for reducing suicides and the incidence of self-harm, Northern Ireland has also welcomed other key developments.

Action Mental Health Chief Executive, David Babington commented: “AMH’s campaign for a Mental Health Champion was realised, and a Mental Health Action Plan has also been created, including a commitment to produce a mental health strategy. We now need to ensure that these commitments and strategies are fully implemented and properly resourced, to ensure we can address the very unique circumstances in Northern Ireland.

 “What is required now, more than ever, is a copper-fastened pledge by the Executive to fully fund and resource these new strategies, such as Protect Life 2, to help reduce the number of suicides in Northern Ireland.

“Today, as we mark World Suicide Prevention Day, the collaboration shown by so many people and organisations reinforces the importance message – that suicide is preventable and by working together, we can help save lives.”

Action Mental Health and Lighthouse have announced that they are exploring options for closer collaborative working. The Boards of both organisations are keen to build and sustain the existing expertise within the two organisations and want to build on the strong track record both have in partnership working to deliver better outcomes for clients.

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance effectiveness in meeting the needs of clients and local communities whilst ensuring resources are used to best effect. It is possible that this process could lead to Lighthouse and Action Mental Health merging which means they will become a single entity.

In the first instance the two Boards have agreed to form a joint Steering Group to manage the process and they will be actively engaged in a process over the next months to examine ways to work together more effectively. We would ask for the support and encouragement of all our stakeholders in this process; our key priority is to ensure a seamless provision of existing services to clients as this process progresses. We would wish to reassure our clients and service users that this is a process designed to enhance and protect current services. There will be no negative impact on the services and support you are currently receiving.

Any relevant queries from stakeholders should be referred in the first instance to their usual contact within the respective organisations. The Steering Group will agree a communications strategy to ensure that clients, service users, staff, stakeholders and other interested parties are kept informed of progress on an ongoing basis.

Progressive Building Society has partnered with Action Mental Health and The Consumer Council NI to launch its third annual Northern Ireland Savings Week, from 7^th-11^th September. Savings Week was developed with the aim of instilling a savings culture across Northern Ireland. This year, the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged Progressive to shift the initiative’s focus to encouraging people across Northern Ireland to ‘open up’ about our finances, savings and how they impact on our mental health.

Commenting on the shift in focus for this year’s Savings Week, Jane Millar, Head of Lending and Savings at Progressive Building Society said, “COVID-19 has affected many people’s financial situations, whether through furlough or loss of income, and we recognise the impact money worries can have on our mental health. That is why we wanted to use this year’s Savings Week as an opportunity to encourage people across Northern Ireland to open up about financial and mental wellbeing, and educate individuals and families about the positive impact that regular saving can have on our mental health in the long term. ”

With nearly a third of people in Northern Ireland having had to cut back on essentials like food or heating and 1 in 10 people have missed a debt repayment in recent months*, Progressive, Action Mental Health and The Consumer Council have developed a programme of financial tips and information, highlighting the link between personal finances and mental wellbeing, educating people about budgeting and how to look after your mental health are available on the Northern Ireland Savings Week section of Progressive Building Society’s website.,

Jonathan Smyth, Fundraising & Communications Manager at Action Mental Health, said of the partnership “We are delighted to be working alongside Progressive and The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland Savings Week as we know that financial anxiety and money worries can have serious impacts on people’s mental wellbeing. Teaching people about savings and budgeting, as well as taking steps to look after their mental health, is a simple way to prevent these issues getting out of control.”

Scott Kennerley, Director of Financial Services at The Consumer Council, which is supporting Northern Ireland Savings Week for the third year, commented: “At a time when household finances are already tight and peoples’ mental health may be impacted by money worries, it is more important than ever to encourage each other to open up and speak out about savings, budgeting and money management.

“For those looking to make the first step towards regular saving as a way of protecting their mental health in the longer term, our online budgeting tool is a great place to start. The tool can be found on the Northern Ireland Savings Week section of Progressive Building Society’s website, along with lots of useful information from Action Mental Health,.”

Reflecting on the partnerships for this year’s Savings Week, Jane Millar said, “Together with Action Mental Health and The Consumer Council, Progressive, as a leading savings account provider in Northern Ireland, aims to provide support for local people who are currently experiencing financial stress. The partnerships we have garnered for this year’s Northern Ireland Savings Week have brought real expertise and depth of understanding to the initiative, and we are looking forward to opening up about savings with the Northern Ireland public and our Members.”

For more information on this year’s NI Savings Week, and to access help and support around saving, budgeting or mental health and wellbeing, visit www.theprogressive.com