Action Mental Health’s MensSana service is hosting more open Mindset sessions this month. The mental and emotional health and well-being awareness programme is aimed at over 18s, within youth and community settings across the Northern, Western, Belfast and South Eastern Trust areas. Mindset is funded by the PHA. For more information and to sign up visit
A teacher from Eglinton has just parked her bicycle after a staggering 500-mile cycle, raising over £1000 aid of Action Mental Health.
Claire Lynch, who now lives in Glasgow, churned up the miles for the Northern Ireland charity after initial plans to cycle through Paris were thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 28-year-old cyclist, who previously ran the Belfast Marathon in aid of Action Mental Health, completed her two-wheeled challenge throughout the North West, where she returned to during the lockdown.
Her challenge took her through many picturesque parts of Northern Ireland and the Republic, including Ballyliffin and Greencastle in Donegal, as well as Limavady, Claudy, Portstewart, Portrush, Armoy and Ballycastle in counties Londonderry and Antrim.
“I mostly wanted to do this because I had fallen in love with cycling and wanted to push myself mentally and physically, all the while having a bit of an adventure,” she said.
‘But the pandemic made planning for a trip like this pretty difficult as I didn’t know when travel restrictions would be lifted and I obviously didn’t want to add to any risk of the spread.
‘After putting the whole thing on hold, one day I had the thought that I could still do the distance of the original plan, even if it was just on home turf. I say ‘just’ but it turns out where I live isn’t too shabby and actually has some really amazing cycle routes.
Choosing Action Mental Health as her beneficiary, Claire went on: ‘According to the NI Health Survey (2015) one in five adults in Northern Ireland will show signs of a mental illness. When matched to 17 other countries, Northern Ireland has the second highest rates of mental ill-health.
‘Sadly, due to the pandemic the work of Action Mental Health may be needed more now than ever.
‘On a personal level, I have experienced periods of poor mental health, mostly in the form of anxiety. Although I haven’t used this organisation I have benefitted from others and feel grateful to these types of services,’ she continued.
‘Alongside this help, cycling has been hugely beneficial in helping to manage my mental health. The feeling of being outside, moving my body and seeing nature always helps to lift my mood. Therefore a cycle challenge in aid of a mental health charity seemed like a great fit.’
“The service and support I’ve received from AMH New Horizons Derriaghy during lockdown has been exemplary. At a time when other services closed their doors, Action Mental Health were there with care and determination to keep contact and services going which meant the world to me. The Zoom classes, the phone calls to home from my key worker, were very much appreciated and reassuring. The staff of AMH helped dismiss the feelings of isolation and uncertainty during these unprecedented times. I’ll be forever grateful for Action Mental Health and their dependable care and support”.
Many thanks to Eamonn Thompson. Eamonn is taking part in our “Working it Out” Project at AMH New Horizons Derriaghy. This project is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.
This new direction came about after being involved with AMH New Horizons.
Structure to my day was restored. People from all walks of life were there regardless of background with one common factor, making us all equal with no judgement.
Then the worldwide pandemic of 2020 threatened everything. I was prevented from socialising just when I had regained my desire to do so.
I tried to keep calm and stop the tsunami of negativity. AMH were offering Zoom classes as a replacement service. This would enable groups to interact via a video link in the comfort of your own living space.
I signed up to every class I could possibly fit in with no real hope of any positive outcome.
Truth be told, it has been nowhere near the same AMH that helped me turn that corner. Having said that, the service that has been offered in such extreme and unprecedented circumstances has helped maintain the path that I am on and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that
Many thanks to Mark Kinkaid for sharing his experience of AMH during the pandemic. Mark is taking part in our “Working it Out” Project at AMH New Horizons Derriaghy. This project is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.
Every year, Action Mental Health proudly supports Belfast Pride.
But with the coronavirus pandemic stalling life, as we know it, for the foreseeable future, this year’s Belfast Pride event is going online.
Like myriad events taking the virtual approach this year, the digital avenue will allow Pride revellers and supporters the chance to celebrate Northern Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community as in previous years.
For 2020, Belfast Pride Festival is planning a launch and award ceremony to kick things off, Pride Talks Back event, a Virtual Parade and Party in the Square and After Party, as well as a host of online events for people to enjoy at home or in small groups with friends and family.
The Virtual Parade and Party will be online on the Belfast Pride Festival http://www.belfastpride.com/ website on August 1st and can also be supported by its social media channels via the hashtags #bproud2020 and #RainbowHeroes.
One of our staff members who will be supporting the event said he knows how difficult it has been for the LGBT+ community during the lockdown.
“Having a minority identity can be isolating, and Covid-19 has shut down the few safe places that many LBGT+ have to socialise/meet and emotionally connect. My heart goes out to LBGT+ people who live more rurally and who live with even greater social and geographical isolation. How do single people cope or attend to their social/emotional needs during a lockdown? What impact does this have?
“I know this has hit the LBGT+ community hard. I recall living in rural Limavady for many years, having few LBGT+ people in the area with nowhere safe to socialise nor meet others – homophobia and heterosexism were rife. It was very expensive to travel to the two major cities to get a night out (let alone pay in or buy anything) and I recall having to spend my hard-earned wages renting hotel rooms in Belfast just so I could have a safe night out in LBGT+ company; this wasn’t an optional city break treat but a mental health essential!
I am very aware I was one of the privileged ones that had a good job, a car and was ‘out’ to my friends and family, what about those who aren’t?
“I am a massive advocate of the essential work and achievement of efforts to eliminate homophobia, discrimination and hate crimes against members of my LBGT+ community. Pride celebrates diversity/equality for all, integrating LBGT+ services within mainstream funding/provision whilst retaining the unique needs of these amazing people, friends, colleagues and peers, that I call my LBGT+ family.
“I look forward to walking the parade route under the AMH banner with pride in the coming years.”
Energetic staff at Coca Cola HBC are endeavouring to clock up 160km this summer as part of a major fundraising drive for their charity partners, including Action Mental Health.
The distance of 160km has been chosen to reflect the distance between their Northern Ireland site at Lissue Road, Lisburn, and its counterpart in the Republic of Ireland, where it is based in Ballycoolin, Dublin.
Employees will be running, swimming, cycling and walking or taking the exercise of their choice to count down the miles, close to home.
One staff member stated: “I’m undertaking Coca-Cola HBC’s 160km Challenge in aid of our charity partners Action Mental Health and the Marie Keating Foundation. All donations will go directly towards helping these charities through this difficult time and any support would be greatly appreciated.”
Coca Cola staff are keeping active to help support and promote good mental health and well-being. The benefits of exercise are well documented, with physical activity playing a huge role in keeping people’s minds healthy. On top of the advantages it brings to our bodies, exercise also helps reduce stress and clear the mind.
Action Mental Health’s Fundraising and Communications Manager Jonathan Smyth said: “Physical activity plays a huge role in keeping our minds healthy as well as our bodies and it is fantastic that Coca Cola staff are boosting their health and well-being through physical activity and raising funds to support our vital services at the same time.
“With one in five people in Northern Ireland experiencing mental ill-health at some stage of their life, it’s important to remember that keeping active can really help to reduce stress and clear the mind and help with overall mental well-being. Looking after your mental health is especially important right now, as we deal with the impacts of the pandemic on our daily lives.”
Clients at AMH Foyle have taken artistic action against the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic, to help support their own well-being while raising vital funds for the charity.
AMH Foyle clients, dubbed ‘Experts by experience,’ are showcasing their creative talents across a diverse range of mediums with the end products being sold in the local community and proceeds benefiting the charity.
When the lockdown shut New Horizons’ nine services across Northern Ireland on March 23, staff got creative to fill the gap and to continue to provide avenues to maintain well-being and mental health among clients.
Staff set about devising a ‘Stay at Home with Foyle’ activity pack that provided instructions and materials for clients to engage in arts projects. The move reflected recent research that showed participating in artistic activities helped reduce anxieties associated with Covid 19, decreasing feelings of isolation, and helping people feel connected.
Some 120 clients were involved in seven unique projects, allowing them to utilise their talents and flair in the Covid Seeders, sunflower and wild flower growing project, the Covid Muse creative writing initiative, the Lock What You See photography, the Crafty Covid sculptors scheme, the Big Covid Bake-Off course, the Covid Dudes sock sewing project, as well as the Unravel Covid knitting collective.
The knitters have created Derry/ Londonderry’s first ever 8ft knitted Christmas tree, comprising a knitted square for every client who has attended New Horizons Foyle over the last 28 years. The unusual tree will be displayed in a central city location, to be a symbol of positive mental health and emotional well-being, with donations by the public welcome.
Each project encouraged participating clients to cultivate their hobbies and skills to produce collections and showcases of a variety, some of which will be on sale soon.
The programmes delivered at AMH New Horizons service are part of the “Working it Out” project, which is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, the Department for the Economy and the five NI Health & Social Care Trusts.
NHS staff and keyworkers who worked tirelessly during the coronavirus pandemic have been praised by staff and clients at Action Mental Health New Horizons Foyle.
Clients returning to the service after the lockdown wanted to pay tribute to the NHS on its 72nd anniversary, as well as key workers who worked through the pandemic for the community.
The Foyle service wanted to show particular appreciation for the 28 GP practices of the Derry GP Federation’s Primary Care Multi-Disciplinary Teams of the Western Health and Social Care Trust, which continued to refer people to AMH New Horizons Foyle during the crisis.
AMH New Horizons supports the recovery of adults experiencing mental ill health who are interested in progressing towards further education/training or employment. Like other New Horizons around Northern Ireland, the Springtown Industrial Estate-based service is currently delivering a phased, blended timetable of face-to-face and remote sessions of accredited and non-accredited training at clients’ own homes.
Those returning to the Arts and Crafts department in Foyle immediately got creative, designing and throwing ceramic ‘well-being’ pots to be offered in appreciation of NHS staff.
Pauline Flanagan, AMH New Horizons Service Manager said it was important to acknowledge the key workers from the primary care multi-disciplinary mental health teams who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, referring adults presenting with mental health difficulties to AMH Foyle.
“We want to say thank you, and to acknowledge the amazing collaborative work between both sectors during the pandemic in supporting and encouraging adults with mental health to access support, and to reaffirm that services are available,” she said.
Stephen Brown, who leads the primary care mental health team within the GP Federation said: “We worked very hard throughout the lockdown, ensuring adults in County Londonderry presenting with mental health issues received the information and timely interventions to ensure support and appropriate help was accessed.”
One client who was referred to AMH Foyle by the mental health team during the pandemic, wanted to highlight the importance of getting support for mental health issues.
“They have a wealth of expertise on services available in the county and more importantly they know how to access them,” she said.
Commenting on the well-being pots, another client commented: “This was a great way for us to showcase our new-found skills. We are studying Level 2 Creative Craft Skills Award and the benefits of working with clay and receiving holistic support and training at AMH Foyle is the prescription for a successful recovery.”
The programmes delivered at AMH New Horizons service are part of the “Working it Out” project, which is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, the Department for the Economy and the five NI Health & Social Care Trusts.
