Bressie launches helpline for young adults

St Patrick’s Mental Health Services launched the Walk in My Shoes Helpline, a support service which is the first of its kind in Ireland, for young adults aged 18-25 years.

The phone line is funded by Walk in My Shoes, a campaign that raises funds to provide support, information and services to people with mental health difficulties throughout Ireland.

The Walk in My Shoes Helpline will be staffed by experienced Mental Health Nurses who can provide information to young adults about mental health issues and the supports and services available to them.

Director of Services, Tom Maher, said: “We know that suicide is the number one cause of death among 18-25 year old men in Ireland and we know that 75 per cent of all mental health difficulties begin before 24 years of age. By funding a phone line that specifically targets 18-25 year olds, we can offer this vulnerable age group the opportunity to seek help early, which is a critical factor in the recovery process for anyone with a mental health difficulty.”

Guest speaker at the launch,singer and musician, Bressie, who has just released his first book, 'Me and My Mate Jeffrey', documenting his own mental health difficulties, said; “Young men especially are notoriously bad at talking about their feelings, but a service like this Helpline makes taking that first step a lot easier. I know if I hadn’t have reached out to a helpline when I was at college things could have been very different.”

The Walk in My Shoes Helpline for 18-25 year olds is a confidential telephone and email service staffed by experienced mental health nurses Monday to Friday with late evening Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until 9pm and an answering and call-back facility outside hours. You can contact the Walk in My Shoes Helpline service by calling 01 249 3555, or email help@walkinmyshoes.ie

Website www.walkinmyshoes.ie or follow us on Facebook & Twitter www.twitter.com/walkinmyshoes

Aoife Ní Shúilleabháin, Vice President for Welfare for the Union of Students in Ireland, said, 'College can be a stressful time and we all hit speed bumps along the way. USI welcomes the launch of the Walk in My Shoes Helpline.

Pick up the phone and call if you ever feel like things are getting a bit too heavy for you. There is always help available; all you have to do is ask. '