THE PUBLIC is being urged to take part in a unique walk on the Belfast Hills on Friday to raise awareness around positive mental health.
New Script for Mental Health and Glór na Mona are coming together for an early morning community walk on the summer solstice on Divis Mountain.
New Script for Mental Health, a mental health rights-based movement, and Glór na Mona, an Irish medium youth and community organisation, have partnered to develop ‘Curious Minds Will Find a Way’ – a ground-breaking initiative on mental health. Since its launch in October 2023, this initiative has been hosting conversations about existing approach to mental health and exploring human rights-based alternatives to the dominant medical model.
A community consultation conducted by New Script and launched in the Long Gallery, Stormont on World Mental Health Day 2023, with the support of all political parties, showed that collectively, people using mental health services and those working in these services, have solutions to the current crisis, solutions providing choice and addressing causes rather than simply treating symptoms.
Lisa Morrison, Organiser with New Script for Mental Health, explained the reason behind this walk on the summer solstice.
“At solstice, the sun reaches the highest point in the sky. It is the longest day of the year. A moment not separated by boundaries or time which happens everywhere on earth. The seeds of a #NewScript for mental health were planted on Imbolc last year when New Script for Mental Health was launched. Since then, many have come together to begin creating a new vision and calling for actions to support a more hopeful, kinder, and rights-based approach to healing and recovery.
Glór na Móna Director, Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh stated: "We are delighted to partner the New Script for Mental Health campaign with this unique Solstice Solidarity walk on Divis Mountain. This campaign is bringing our attention to the need to prioritise ‘choice, connection and community’ when discussing and planning how we can collectively develop new approaches based on solidarity and well-being.
"This walk will utilise one of our most beautiful natural resources to build community well-being that connects us to our local environment and landscape. These wonderful pathways, which are now enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people daily, are only accessible because the West Belfast community fought a long campaign to Save the Black Mountain from quarrying and mining and have it returned to public ownership."
All are welcome to join this community walk. It leaves the National Trust Lower Car Park, 12 Divis Road at 6am. The walk will take approximately two hours 30 minutes. For more information or to register contact Sara Boyce, Organiser, New Script for Mental Health on sara@pprproject.org or 07864074235.
