On Monday 10th October, as part of mental health awareness, South West College (SWC) hosted a 'Put it in Your Phone Day’ to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
The Day was designed to encourage students to take five minutes during class to save the contact telephone numbers of organisations who can provide confidential advice, counselling and support services 24/7 such as Carecall, Lifeline and PIPS, should they, a family member or a friend need it.
With one in five people in Northern Ireland showing signs of a mental health problem at any one time {1}, SWC want to put the spotlight on young people’s mental health and get everyone joining in on the conversation to remind them that help is available.
For the first time, the College has teamed up with the Department of Health to promote the 5 Steps to Wellbeing. Students will be shown a one minute, You-Tube clip directly after saving the telephone numbers to highlight the simple things that everyone can do to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
The Day provides an opportunity for staff and students to talk about how to improve wellbeing and help make mental health care a reality. The hope is, that after the events on Monday, all students will have sufficient contact information for support services which may save their or someone else’s life.
Susanne Workman, SWC Omagh Campus Manager said; “Mental health issues affect many people at some point in their life, with young adults being particularly at risk from such issues. The ‘Put it in Your Phone Day’ has shown students how to cope when presented with problems of mental health and signposted to what support is available in the local area”.
For further information contact Student Services at your local South West College Campus Tel: 0845 603 1881.