Mental health group puts focus on self-help
One in four is the figure quoted by Amnesty International and the World Health Organisation. And the figure is rising. Yet Government funding for mental health has fallen from 13% to 7% of the health budget. Suicide, violence, addiction, homelessness, despair are rising, as is the cost of providing our over-stretched mental health services.
To help combat this state of affairs, GROW, Ireland’s largest mutual help organisation in mental health, is launching an initiative which will see 100 new self-help groups in Dublin within five years. GROW is an international organisation which receives core funding from the Department of Health and Children. Its members have suffered mental and emotional distress, including depression. Starting on September 15, we intend to recruit and train 15 volunteers, each of whom, after six months, will be in a position to open a mutual help group and offer real hope of recovery to up to 15 others. That means that within 12 months almost 300 people will be improving their mental health and developing leadership skills.
