Maeve praised for lending a hand

A SOUTHSIDE student has been praised for developing a
new mental health awareness project.

Maeve DeSay’s project, entitled

‘Need a Hand’,
involved the creation of a hard plastic card with the names and contact details
of eight mental health organisations that are relevant to young people.

Maeve and members of the St Joseph’s student council
in Lucan received funding and support for the project from Think Big, a
programme designed by O2 and Headstrong, the National Centre for Youth Mental
Health, that enables young people to do projects in their community that will
make a difference to mental health.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances
Fitzgerald, was in St Joseph’s College, Lucan to officially launch the card.

“I would like to congratulate Maeve and all her class
mates involved in this fantastic initiative,

? she said.

“This project asked
young people throughout the country to think big and that’s exactly what
happened here in Lucan. The

‘Need a Hand’ card, developed by Maeve and her
team, is a practical tool for young people in need of support.

?

Maeve explained the background to her Think Big
project:

“The student council wanted to reduce the stigma associated with
mental health issues in our school and create a support system that encouraged
people to reach out to each other.

“Think Big provided us with the support and resources
to bring our vision to life. We developed a card featuring the names and
numbers of various mental health services that we felt would be helpful for any
young person in distress.

?

She added:

“The outstretched hand on the card
symbolises that help is always on hand. We also created bracelets featuring the
same logo, which was designed by my classmate Diane Meyler. To date the project
has been a huge success and the positive change in the school atmosphere is
amazing.

?

The Think Big Programme is open to any young person,
aged between 14 and 25, in the Republic of Ireland with an idea for a project
that promotes positive mental health.

Ideas can be submitted at any time for consideration
on www.o2thinkbig.ie and successful projects receive funding and support from
O2 and Headstrong in the form of mentoring and ongoing training to help bring
the ideas to life.

Since Think Big was launched in September 2010, over
120 projects have been developed by young people to make a difference to young
people’s mental health.