WORLD MENTAL HEALTH Week has kicked off in Ireland today, and marking it will be GROW, who are officially opening a €300,000 mental health facility in Limerick.

The facility is being opened by Limerick City Lord Mayor and former All-Black nemesis Gerry “Ginger” McLoughlin,  along with recent former Munster flanker extraordinaire Alan Quinlan.

Major victory

The location for the new facility is 33 Henry Street, Limerick, and GROW have described it as a “major victory for the region in mental healthcare and suicide prevention”.

The facility was acquired and completed with a €290,000 fund from the JP McManus Pro Am 2010 Fund and provides an improved permanent base for the operations of GROW’s Mid West region.

GROW runs 20 support groups in the mid west region with bases in Limerick City, Nenagh, Ennis, Templemore, Newcastle West, Bruff and Thurles among them. It is supported in part by the regional HSE. GROW is also launching an interactive social media health awareness campaign using a Facebook app.

“Around one in four Irish people will experience depression or other mental health issues in their lifetime,” said Michelle Kerrigan, CEO of GROW in Ireland.

For World Mental Health Week our message is to “share awareness.” Everyone is entitled to mental health and GROW’s track record in assisting real recovery demonstrates that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that recovery is not only possible but fully achievable.

On World Mental Health Day (Wednesday 10 October), GROW will be raising funds in its first national flag day.

See Change

Meanwhile, See Change has released research that shows an increased number of Irish people have experienced a mental health problem since 2010.

Using a nationally representative sample and building from its 2010 baseline survey of attitudes to mental health problems in Ireland, See Change research found:

• More than 55 per cent of Irish people now claim to have some experience of a mental health problem either themselves or through others, up from 39 per cent of those surveyed in 2010.
• Claimed experience of mental health problems is highest among those who describe their own financial situations to be under severe strain, with 77 per cent claiming personal experience and experience through others.
• There is increased willingness to seek professional help for a mental health problem, growing from 88 per cent in 2010 to 91 per cent in 2012.
• Ninety nine per cent of those experiencing severe financial strain emerged as the most willing group to seek professional help for a mental health problem.

Read: Ireland’s youth mental health services can save lives – and should be minded>