As part of September’s ‘Suicide Awareness Month’ initiatives and the National Mental Health strategy, members of the GHA Mental Health team visited schools to deliver talks, host interactive stands and discuss the issues that young people face in Gibraltar.
On both the 23rd and 30th September, GHA Charge Nurse Niall Wright and Practice Development Officer Darren Cerisola delivered a talk to students of the Gibraltar College on emotional resilience. The session informed students on healthy coping strategies, sources of help such as the 111 mental health crisis line and offered advice on how to keep a good mental health.
On 29th September, Niall delivered two sessions via zoom to roughly 200 students from Bayside and a further 150 students from Westside. These sessions were focused on how to manage daily stressors as well as what sources of help are available to them, including the newly introduced 111 crisis line and how it functions.
Niall and Darren also hosted a stall on the 30th September in between Westside and Bayside, which raised awareness about mental health issues and offered an opportunity to listen to and engage with students about the issues they are facing on a day-to-day basis and how the GHA Mental Health services can help.
GHA Charge Nurse Niall Wright and Practice Development Officer Darren Cerisola, said: ‘It’s great to be engaging directly with students about the mental health issues they face. These two-way conversations allow us to really listen to and learn from the students, and offer the best ways in which they can seek advice and support. We look forward to continuing these initiatives in future.’
Minister for Health, the Hon Samantha Sacramento, said: ‘I am extremely proud of the GHA Mental Health team for this unprecedented initiative. Engaging directly with young people is an important part of our Mental Health Strategy. My Thanks to Niall and Darren for their hard work on this very well-received initiative’.
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