Mental health project helps more than 8,000 participants

A CROSS-border project funded by European money promoting mental health, wellbeing and recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has helped out more than 8,000 people.

Reflecting on the importance of the Innovation Recovery project, Peter May, Permanent Secretary, for the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, said, “Those who participated in the Innovation Recovery Project, a first of its kind on a cross-border basis, should be very proud of what they have achieved.

“The innovative approach of learning online and service user engagement will encourage people to communicate and get involved more directly. I know it will inspire work in other areas and contexts as we work together to address the common mental health challenges both North and South.

“This project will also serve to enhance and complement a number of key strategic objectives currently being delivered by the Department of Health and its key partners including the ten-year Mental Health Strategy, which I know was a key focus for all Executive Ministers.”

The ‘Health and Hope in Your Hands’ project was developed through funding from the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme (€7.6m) and managed by the cross border health partnership, Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT), on behalf of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

It was delivered in the border counties of Ireland and across Northern Ireland along with support from the participating partners including HSE, Public Health Agency, Strategic Planning and Performance Group, and the Southern, Western and Belfast Health Trusts.

John Meehan, CAWT Partnership project chair, said, “The project aimed to assist people who have experienced mental health issues to self-manage their own recovery. The approach sought to establish a virtual recovery college as a social rather than clinical model and combined the knowledge of mental health service users with the clinical skills of mental health practitioners.”

l A wide variety of free educational courses and resources which support people to manage their mental health wellbeing and recovery, is available via the online platform at mymentalhealthrecovery.com.