Walk In My Shoes

Today the school is raising money for a charity called 'Walk in my shoes.' This charity is to help young people who have mental health issues of any kind. Everyone in the school today wore their own choice of clothes and shoes, some people even wore wellies for the charity. Everybody who didn't wear their uniform donated €2 to the charity. 

Mental health is a very important topic that is often overlooked because its very hard for people to know, if someone they know has mental health issues. This charity aims to help young people understand what mental health issues are an how to deal with them. 

Some mental health statistics:

• 1 in 6 employees in Ireland will experience a mental health difficulty.
• 1 in 4 young people in Ireland will experience a mental health difficulty.
• Suicide is the leading cause of death among 18-25 year old men in Ireland and the second most common cause of death generally in this age group.
• Ireland has one of the highest suicide rates in the 14-24 age group in the EU.
• 75% of all mental health difficulties begin before 24 years of age.

The inspiration behind the fundraiser is that people 'walk in the shoes' of people with mental health issues, so that everyone can see what it is like for people with mental health issues. The fundraising went really well in the school today as everybody wore different shoes and they all donated.

Links for help with mental health in Ireland:

Walk in my shoes: http://www.walkinmyshoes.ie/i-needi-feel/

Aware: http://www.aware.ie/help/support/support-mail/

Grow: http://grow.ie/how-we-help/

Mental Health Ireland: http://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/