Mind your Melon is an online youth mental health festival for the young people of Donegal.

The online festival will launch on 1st November 2021 and will be promoted as a month long event but the website will remain live throughout the academic year as a resource for young people in the county.

Through video and interactive content the online festival will:

• Promote positive mental health

• Improve young people’s understanding of mental health and wellbeing

• Increase awareness of youth mental health supports and services and how to access them

• Reduce stigmatising attitudes to mental health

Who is involved?

Mind your Melon has been created by local mental health charity Connect Mental Health in partnership with Jigsaw Donegal, Foróige, the HSE and Healthy Ireland.

This will be an event ‘For young people, by young people’. Young people will be involved in developing themes and ideas for content being created. Young people from Donegal Youth Council and Jigsaw’s Youth Advisory Panel are the youth advisory committee for this project.

Target audience:

13,500 12-18 year olds across County Donegal, predominantly from 27 secondary schools across the county.

Register your school

We want to partner with secondary schools across county Donegal to ensure the opportunity to get involved reaches as many young people as possible.

Young people will be encouraged to explore the online festival in their own time but Connect Mental Health will support schools to to promote the event and incorporate into their own mental health and wellbeing initiatives.

If you are interested in ensuring your school is involved please register your interest by completing the short form though the ‘Register your Interest’ button below.

Register your Interest.

How will it Work?

The Festival will be launched to young people in Donegal on 1st November. The festival will have its own dedicated website where all content will be hosted.

Participating schools will be provided with a toolkit to promote the event to students in their school.

For more details on the Mind your Melon festival view our overview for schools here

Supported by:

Mind Your Melon is grant aided by the HSE, Healthy Donegal and Donegal Local Development CLG.

Dates: Monday 4th & Tuesday 5th December
This is a two day course
Venue: The Mount Errigal Hotel, Ballyraine, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm on both days
Cost: Complimentary. Limited number of HSE sponsored places available (The normal cost is €300 per person)
Total places on course: This course is limited to 20 people in order to maintain an optimal learning environment.

How Do I Register

Click on the below ‘Book Your Place’ Button and proceed to the booking page. Complete your details.

Book Your Place

Places are limited and if for any reason you have to cancel please allow 5 working days so that your place can be offered to a person on the waiting list.

What is Mental Health First Aid

Mental Health First Aid is the help offered to someone developing a mental health problem, experiencing the worsening of an existing mental health problem, or in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional support is received or until the crisis resolves.

Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and understand what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective. Participants will learn a framework for communication, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person towards appropriate treatments and other supportive help.

Mental Health First Aid training has been shown to improve attitudes towards people with mental health difficulties, reduce stigma, improve knowledge, and improve people’s confidence in providing help and likelihood to advise people to seek professional help.

Who is it for

Mental health first aid is for everyone. We all have mental health just like we all have physical health. And we could all have the ability to help someone when they may be experiencing a mental health difficulty. You don’t have to be an expert to talk to someone about mental health but Mental Health First Aid has been proven to give individuals more confidence to help others.

Mental health first aid has the potential to help those who may, in their daily lives, come across individuals experiencing mental health difficulties.

This could include people such as those in the caring professions, social care, interested family carers, and line managers, HR personnel, foster parents, pharmacists, teachers or Gardaí. The potential list is endless.

In order to participate in this training course you must be aged 18 or over, and be ordinarily resident in the Republic of Ireland.

What is Involved

The  course takes place over 2 consecutive days from 9.30am – 4.00pm. Attendance at both days is required. The course is sponsored by the HSE(the fee is covered by HSE) and will be held at The Mount Errigal Hotel. 

Course participants receive a copy of the MHFA manual and a Certificate of completion.

The course is delivered over two days or in four 3-hour modules.  Facilitated by MHFA Instructors, who are health professionals and/or have life experience of mental health problems, this face-to-face training is focused on new knowledge and skills and how they can be applied in a workplace setting.  The course format caters for various learning styles providing opportunities to participate and practice skills using workplace case-studies, videos and resources tailored to their learning needs.

With Funding from the HSE Mental Health Division:

HSE

Resilience Packs

In response to the first national lockdown in March we partnered with Foróige to create ‘Resilience Packs’ that were delivered to over 200 young people across the county. Each pack was created with the specific family in mind, including games, crafts, personal care items, self care products, and even some vouchers.  The packs promoted positive mental health while also signposting to important local youth mental health services like Jigsaw Donegal.

The development of the Resilience Packs was supported by Donegal Local Development CLG through their COVID-19 Response Fund. Stephen Barrett, Community Worker, DLDC said, “Connect Mental Health always find innovative and inspiring ways of ‘Championing’ positive mental health in the County. The ‘resilience packs’ are only one example, of the many different responses, projects and events led out by the group and partners, for the benefit of the community in recent years.”

Online Workshops

In the absence of being able to host our usual programme of workshops throughout the county we brought our workshops online. These online workshops were attended by over 180 people and included the following topics, designed to respond to the challenges posed by Covid-19.

• Tips & Tools for Managing Your Mental Health during Covid-19 (in partnership with SOS)

• Managing the Inner Critic (in partnership with SOS)

• Strategies for Coping Better During Periods of Anxiety

In October we were delighted to partner with Mental Health First Aid Ireland to bring their renowned two day Mental Health First Aid course to Donegal (virtually). Attendees at this course included staff from Donegal Family Resource Centre network, Donegal Youth Service and other organisations in the county who may, in their line of work, come across individuals experiencing mental health difficulties.

Thank you to facilitators Jacqui Crutchley and Teresa Keane for delivering the course, Donal Scanlan and the team at Mental Health First Aid Ireland for working with us again and to the HSE for sponsoring.

Over the past 3 years we are delighted to have partnered with Mental Health First Aid Ireland to bring 9 mental health first aid courses to Donegal. These courses have taken place across the county in Moville, St. Johnston, Dunfanaghy, Portnoo, Ballyshannon, Letterkenny, Buncrana & Ballybofey and have seen 173 people now fully certified.

Text 50808 Partnership

In September we were delighted to launch a partnership with Text 50808, a free 24/7 text service, providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for people going through a mental health or emotional crisis. For support in a crisis free-text DLMH to 50808 to be connected to a trained crisis volunteer.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Connect Mental Health Chairperson Ciaran McLoone said: ‘We are delighted to partner with 50808 to promote this innovative service to the people of Donegal. Sometimes it’s easier to text than talk and this service will undoubtedly offer support to people of all ages throughout the county. Connect Mental Health will ensure that the people of Donegal are aware of, and have access to, this important service during this exceptionally difficult time for our country.’

50808 CEO Ian Power welcomed the partnership: ‘We’re thrilled to be working with Connect Mental Health to bring the 50808 service to people in Donegal. Our goal is to make sure everyone knows that whether they need a calming chat or immediate support, our volunteers are standing by around the clock, ready to listen. The 50808 service is free, anonymous and available 24/7 and is an accessible way for people who are more comfortable to text to reach out and get support. Our aim is to make the 50808 number famous, and we’re delighted to be working with Connect Mental Health to do just that across the county of Donegal.’

If you’re experiencing a personal crisis, are unable to cope and need support free-text DLMH to 50808.

Age Friendly Programme

In November we supported Donegal Age Friendly Programme in the development of a ‘Winter Ready Pack.’ The packs were delivered to 5000 Older Peoples houses across County Donegal. Donegal is one of many counties in Ireland that are part of the Age Friendly Ireland Programme. The Age Friendly Programme works to make Ireland one of the best places in the world in which to grow old. The packs were created as a response to the Covid 19 Pandemic, that has proved particularly challenging for the older age group who are continually being advised to stay safe and in their home away from friends and family.

The packs were specially designed and created for older people. An advent calendar was included that featured a positive mental health message or task to carry out behind each door along with a chocolate reward for doing so. Nutrition is always very important, included in the pack, information and simple nutritious recipes to cook with a packet of Porridge and Soup provided. Even though Older People are at home, the age friendly programme would encourage everyone to wrap up using the “Beanie hat” supplied, go outside into nature to plant the Daffodil bulbs and feed the birds with the bird seed that is also inside the pack. For the days that people cannot get outside, the packs contained an Activity Booklet and pencil to keep the mind active and a simple exercise programme to keep the body moving. To relax and unwind in the longer evenings, the packs contained a tea bag, this was to encourage people to sit back, have their cup of tea and read through the literature provided on security in your home, keep in contact card and information on the Doorstep delivery service from Donegal Library Services.

Christmas Cheer

In the lead up to Christmas we again partnered with Foróige to create Christmas Cheer Packs filled full of treats and vouchers to bring a little bit of sparkle into the lives of young people and their families.  Almost 40 families in the south west of the county were hand delivered a Cheer Pack by their Foróige Project Worker (while adhering to all public health guidelines), benefitting over 50 young people engaged with Foróige, as well as parents, siblings, and the extended family.

Susan McLoughlin from Foróige said “This year has been exceptionally challenging for everyone including our young people. They get a lot of negative publicity but we have witnessed so many young people leading by example and who have been exemplary in the way they have followed the guidelines to keep themselves and others safe. Like so many others, young people have also experienced mental health challenges this year. So this was our opportunity to do something positive and bring a little bit of hope and happiness to their lives. We couldn’t have done it without the support of Connect Mental Health who funded the initiative”. As one parent put it, “Thank you so much, you have brought some badly needed joy in to this house tonight”.

We also worked with Foróige on Christmas Well Being packs for 15 additional families throughout Donegal (28 young people ranging from 7-17years) who have been engaged in the Foróige Marginalised Youth Project throughout 2020. This project works with young people who are marginalised because of their ethnicity,  geographical isolation, religious and cultural beliefs. Marginalised young people are particularly vulnerable to being further isolated during the school holiday period. These packs included mental health & well being tips, activities, vouchers for sports wear and care products, books and art supplies, goodies and essential contact details of services which will support these young people in what for some can be a lonely time of year.

The support received by Donegal Local Development CLG through their COVID-19 Response Fund was also used to develop the Christmas Cheer packs.

Thank You

2020 was a challenging year for many in the charity sector. We rely heavily on the support and generosity of the local community to raise funds that allow us to undertake the activity outlined. While we had to cancel our own planned fundraising activity early in the year due to the pandemic we were humbled to receive fantastic support from the local community who took on creative and innovative fundraisers to support Connect Mental Health.

In July we were extremely grateful to 11 local heroes who completed an epic swim from Creevy Pier to Rossnowlagh Beach. The lads raised an incredible €10,000 for Connect Mental Health and also made a fantastic contribution to “A Better Life for Livie”. Thank you to Philip, David, Donald, Michael, Rory, Philip, Chris, Brian, Ivan, Ciaran & Shane and everyone who supported and contributed to their efforts.

In September 39 teams turned out for the annual Connect Mental Health Golf Classic in Bundoran Golf Club.  Conditions were very tough but some great scores still posted. Thank you to our generous sponsors, the excellent staff at Bundoran Golf Club and the teams that participated. Congratulations to Robert Barnes, David Barnes, Michael Dolan and Turlough Craig on winning the Classic with a score of 92 Pts.

During the November lockdown David McGurrin ran the distance from where he currently lives in Dooradoyle, Limerick, back to Ballyshannon, his hometown, which is approximately 271km. David ran the 271km all within 5km of his home in Dooradoyle as per the restrictions during lockdown. Thanks so much David for putting in the KMs, ALL 271 OF THEM, raising €3,835 for Connect Mental Health in the process. Thank you to everyone who supported David along the way and so generously donated.

We were delighted to be chosen as one of three charities supported by employees at Abbott Donegal. The employees at ADC Donegal raised funds through many new and innovative initiatives and made a fantastic donation to Connect Mental Health, Cancer Care West and the North West Hospice.

We are extremely grateful to Donegal Local Development CLG and the HSE for their continued support and guidance.

Supported by:

Ask, listen and offer your support

If you think that someone you know might be having problems, try talking directly to them about your concerns. People often want to talk but find it hard to start the conversation. Most people will turn to a friend or family for support during tough times, so being there for them can really help.  They may also need your support while they look for professional help.

You can help by:

• Asking open questions about how they are feeling.
• Talking gently about your concerns and the things you have noticed.
• Giving them time and space to tell you about what they are going through.
• Listening carefully to their responses, without being judgmental or offering solutions.
• After you hear them out, make your decision about how serious you think the problem is and whether you need to encourage him or her to get professional support.

For many people, just asking – and listening – will help. It can be a huge relief for the other person to know you are aware of the struggle they are having, you are willing to listen with an open mind, and that you are there to help if they need it.

They may feel such relief that you noticed and have taken the time to ask them about it, that the problem will simply resolve itself by talking it out with you. However, if you are still worried about them, talk to a G.P. for advice. See reasons to seek help for mental health problems for information on when a person might consider talking to a G.P. or support service.

When someone tells you they are having problems and you think they need professional support:

Service user:

If you have been (or are currently) supported by a mental health service, get in touch with the service and ask for an appointment or request contact/ visit from the assigned Community Mental Health Nurse. They will provide advice and support relevant to your current situation.

New to mental health services:

If they are not linked with mental health services, encourage the person to attend or bring them to a G.P. or to the Emergency Department. You can find G.P.s and Hospitals on the HSE.ie online service finder.  You can also find local supports and services in our Find Services section. Find out more about accompanying someone to the health services.

At risk?

If you feel you are in any way at risk from the person (or you have been assaulted or threatened), do not hesitate to contact the Gardaí.

If they are having thoughts of harming themselves: remove access to any means of suicide or self harm– such as medicines, a rope, etc.  Stay with them while you’re making contact with the services mentioned above. Do not leave them on their own.  Once you have contacted the services, go with them to their appointment.

Support recovery:

Family and friends also play a key role in supporting your loved one’s recovery. Reconnecting with people is an important part of a person’s recovery from mental health problems. Find out more about recovery.

What if they are unwilling to consider getting help?

It is usually better that the person goes for help themselves. This can be difficult to accept when you are worried about someone. But it is important for them to acknowledge that help is necessary, and going voluntarily for help, is an important part of the process of recovery. Continue to listen to the person, let them know you are there for them, and share your concerns with them. If you are very close to the person or living with them, it is important to mind your own mental health. Learn more about supports for family and friends.

You believe the person is a danger to themselves or others

Sometimes a person will not consider getting help, but are a real danger to themselves or others. In this situation, you can call the Gardaí on 999 to help. If a Garda has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is suffering from a mental illness and that, because of the illness, there is a serious likelihood of the person causing harm to him/herself or another person, the Garda may assist in having the person admitted to mental health services involuntarily. This is a last resort in a crisis situation.

Information on involuntary detention

The Mental Health Act 2001 sets out provisions and principles that apply to anyone who is admitted involuntarily to mental health services in Ireland. You can find more information about involuntary detention and the Mental Health Act 2001 from the following websites:

• The Mental Health Commission provides a booklet about your rights under mental health law. This booklet answers a number of questions about mental health services including admission to hospital, your rights when receiving treatment, giving consent to treatment, and having a mental health tribunal. The booklet is useful for mental health service users and for family members, carers and loved ones. You can download the booklet on the Mental Health Commission website.

• The Mental Health Commission also provides a leaflet about involuntary admission procedures.

• Citizens Information offers information on admission to a psychiatric hospital and the rights of psychiatric patients.

• Information on H.S.E. Authorised Officers is available on the ie website.

This is the third annual 7 a side football fundraiser Connect Mental Health have hosted. Young Boys of Sound FC won a hard-fought Champions League themed tournament in 2017 with Manor Astro FC clinching the Euro 2016 themed tournament in 2016.

The draw for the Connect Mental Health World Cup took place today in the lavish surroundings of a kitchen table in suburban Dublin. There was no pomp and ceremony at this draw folks, no plastic balls dropped from velvet sacks into large glass drums. No former stars of World Football were on hand to draw the team names and smile at the attentive glare of World Media. Team names were cut from an old foolscap and placed into an old crystal sweet jar, an unwanted christmas present from the 1980’s. Still some might argue this process is more legitimate than those corrupt folk at FIFA.

2016 winners Manor Astro FC and 2017 winners YBOS FC have been kept apart at the group stage but could meet in the quarter finals. Last years beaten finalists Fenian Harps have been drawn in Group A where they will be favourites to advance to the next round. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the World Cup Quarter Finals with the bottom two teams from each group entering a separate knockout Shield tournament.

Important rules to remember:
– Max 10 players per squad
– Entry: €100 per team
– Game length: 16 mins / 8 mins per half
– No offside
– No slide tackles allowed
– Yellow Card = 5 min in sin bin
– Red card will not result in suspensions for next game
– Top two teams from each group will advance to World Cup Quarter Finals
– The bottom two teams from each group will enter a separate Shield tournament
– Drawn games in the knockout phase will go straight to penalties.

Here is the full breakdown of groups and fixtures for the entire day.

Group A & B Fixtures

Group fixtures in Group A & Group B will be played between 11.00 – 13.00.
Group A fixtures will be played on Pitch 1 – Luzhniki Stadium
Group B Fixtures will be played on Pitch 2 – Saint Petersburg Stadium

The top two teams from Group A & B will advance to play in the World Cup Quarter Finals. The Quarter Finals will not take place until 15.40. Immediately after the end of Group A & B fixtures, tea & coffee and sandwiches will be served to all 8 teams in Group A & B.

The bottom two teams from Groups A will playoff for a place in the Shield semi finals. The losing team will be eliminated. The 3rd placed team from Group B will proceed to the Shield Semi Final.

Group C & D Fixtures

Group Fixtures for Group C & D will take place between 13.20 – 15.30
Group C fixtures will be played on Pitch 1 – Luzhniki Stadium
Group D Fixtures will be played on Pitch 2 – Saint Petersburg Stadium

The top two teams from Group C & D will advance to play in the World Cup Quarter Finals. The Quarter Finals will start at 15.40.

The 3rd place teams from Groups C & D will proceed to the Shield Semi Finals.

Shield Semi Finals

World Cup Quarter Finals

World Cup Semi Finals

Shield Final

World Cup Final

“The energy in the Abbey Hotel today was outstanding,” said Foróige and Connect Mental Health’s Maura Gallagher. “We had 250 young people from across south west Donegal taking part in learning by doing style workshops teaching them valuable skills that will empower them to make positive choices, that will positively impact their mental health.”

Workshops on the day included Jigsaw Donegal’s ‘Time To Start Talking workshop,’ a Challenging Negative Thinking workshop by Ciaran McLoone & Rachel McHugh, a healthy eating demo from food blogger Finn Ní Fhaoláin, an ‘Energy session’ by The Energy Hub and a relaxation session with Blaithin Sweeney.

Speakers & Volunteers at Inspire Hope

The keynote address was delivered by Dr Jo Robinson, head of the suicide prevention research unit at Orygen – the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia. Dr Robinson travelled to Donegal ahead of speaking at the 4th International Conference on Youth Mental Health in Dublin.

Speaking at the event Jo stated, “It’s fantastic to be in Donegal today talking to young people directly about suicide prevention. It’s incredibly important to educate young people and make sure they feel able to talk about these issues with their friends and know how to seek professional help when they need it.”

Connect Mental Health wish to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors and supporters, in particular Donegal Local Development Company, who part funded the event. Without their support this event would not have been possible.

Connect also wish to thank Supervalu Killybegs, Supervalu Donegal town, Centra Ballyshannon, Donegal Natural Food Company and Allsports Donegal Town for sponsorship of water, fruit, healthy snacks and discount sports wear vouchers for all the young people who attended the event.

Event proudly supported by:

Event Gallery:

Finn Ni Fhaolain delivering the Mood Food Workshop

Young People enjoying the day

Energiser Session with The Energy Hub

Relaxation Session with Blaithin Sweeney

Karen from Jigsaw delivering Their 'Time To Start Talking' workshop

Dr Jo Robinson delivering a Suicide Prevention talk

Audience at Jo Robinson Talk

Relaxation Session

Maura Gallagher - Foróige

Run in partnership with:

Inspire Hope will bring 250 TY and senior cycle students from 5 south west Donegal schools together in the Abbey Hotel for an educational and interactive day. In addition to the keynote address by Dr Jo Robinson students will experience 4 interactive workshops. This includes a mental health workshop from Jigsaw Donegal, a healthy eating demo from blogger Finn Ní Fhaoláin, an ‘Energy session’ by The Energy Hub and a relaxation session with Blaithin Sweeney from the Rennafix Group.

Foróige and Connect Mental Health’s Maura Gallagher outlined the objectives of Inspire Hope:

‘Connect Mental Health and Foróige have been working effectively in partnership to give opportunities for young people to develop effective coping skills. We hope this event will empower young people to take charge of their own mental health and develop awareness of mental health supports available in Donegal.’

Maura also thanked Dr Jo Robinson for taking the time to be part of the event: ‘Jo is travelling to Ireland from Australia for the International Association For Youth Mental Health conference taking place next week and has kindly accepted the offer to come to Donegal. We look forward to welcoming Jo to Donegal and greatly appreciate the support we have received from the International Association For Youth Mental Health.’

Jo Robinson leads the suicide prevention research unit at Orygen the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health in Melbourne. She leads a pioneering work program examining a range of things including how social media platforms can be used in suicide prevention. Her work with young people tells us that delivering suicide prevention activities via online platforms can be safe, effective and is highly acceptable to young people.

‘I am thrilled to be back in Ireland for the International Association for Youth Mental Health conference being held in Dublin. This is a great opportunity for young people and those who work in youth mental health from all over the world  to come together to share their work and generate new ideas for the future.’

‘I am particularly excited to meet with some of the young people in Donegal and to talk with them about the issues surrounding suicide prevention and social media’.

– Dr Jo Robinson Head of Suicide Prevention Research at Orygen

Jo is in Ireland for the upcoming International Association For Youth Mental Health (IAYMH) conference taking place in Dublin from the 24^th -26^th September. Speaking ahead of next weeks conference Craig Hodges, IAYMH secretary, stated:

‘Ireland has been a world leader in youth mental health with the development of their Jigsaw program and focus on online supports. The IAYMH are proud to be hosting this year’s event in Ireland and look forward to learning more about developments in Ireland.’

‘Engaging young people in designating the services of the future is critical if we want to make a lasting impact on improving the mental health and well-being of young people.’

Connect Mental Health will be exhibiting at IAYMH’s 4^th International Conference on Youth Mental Health from 24^th – 26^th Sept in the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the initial help given to someone who is developing a mental health problem or who is in a mental health crisis. The first aid is given until appropriate professional support is received or until the crises resolves. The MHFA programme is available in 23 countries worldwide.

Emerging mental health problems covered in the course include: depression, anxiety, psychosis and substance misuse. The course also covers mental health crisis situations including: suicidal thoughts and behaviours, self-harm, panic attacks, traumatic events, severe psychotic states, severe effects of alcohol or other drug use and aggressive behaviours.

It is really important that people living or working in the community train in Mental Health Fist Aid as mental health problems are so common yet there is stigma and discrimination around mental health. In addition to this many people are not well informed about how to recognise mental health problems, how to respond to the person, and what supports are available. Many people with mental health problems delay seeking help or do not seek help at all.

Donal Scanlan, Project Manager with Mental Health First Aid Ireland said: “this is so exciting, a great opportunity to bring mental health first aid skills to a community setting, engaging people in becoming a more caring and supportive community.”

Ciaran McLoone, Connect Mental Health founder, said “We are delighted to welcome Mental Health First Aid Ireland to Donegal to run these courses. Increasing mental health awareness in the community is a key aim of Connect Mental Health. We would also like to thank the HSE for funding this initiative”

Anne Sheridan, HSE Mental Health Promotion/Suicide Resource Officer for Donegal added ‘ In the development of Connecting for Life Suicide Prevention Plan for Donegal we invited the people of Donegal to have their say. One person wrote to us saying ‘We need an information campaign around mental health issues. I know if I cough up blood that I should go to the doctor because my chest infection has got really bad – but I don’t know what the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues are for me or my family’ Mental Health First Aid does just that…it deals with the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and how to support someone with a mental health problem as well as the services that are there to help. I hope that many people avail of this opportunity to learn more about mental health problems and how to help so that we can extend the support to those who are vulnerable.’

Courses take place on the following dates:

20/21  March – Tir Hugh Centre, Ballyshannon
20/21  May – Moville Family Resource Centre in Inshowen
23/24  June – St Johnston Family Resource Centre
12/13  Oct – Dunfanaghy Family Resource Centre
18/19  Nov – Portnoo Family Resource Centre

For more information or to book a place visit www.connectmentalhealth.ie/events or email info@connectmentalhealth.ie

You can expect a very positive and welcoming atmosphere. Light snacks and tea & coffee will be provided free during the interval from 3.00 – 3.30pm, during which time you can also pick up information from information stands from Aware and Samaritans.

If you are based in Kilcar, Killybegs, Bruckless, Dunkineely, Mountcharles, Donegal Town, Laghey or Ballintra we have free transport that you can avail of to and from the conference. Find out more about the free transport and pickup times here 

Who should attend:

Inspire Hope is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn more about their mental health and wellbeing. Aswell as offering inspirational and uplifting talks, the educational sessions include practical take home tips.

If you haven’t already registered you can register on this page or on the door from 12 midday at The Abbey Arts Centre.

Doors open: 12.00 noon
Venue: Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon
Starts: 13.00 | Ends: 17.30
Entry: Free

* Register in advance on this page or on the door from 12.00 midday at the Abbey Arts Centre Ballyshannon on Saturday

Running Order:

Register now for your free ticket or register on the door on Saturday!

First pick up at 11am in Carrick -Mc Kinley’s Shop
11.10am Kilcar (Hegarty’s shop)
11.30am Killybegs- Tara Hotel Bus Stop
11.40am Bruckless- Barry’s shop
11.45 Dunkineely- Floyd’s Shop
11.55 Mountcharles -Londis Shop
12pm Donegal Town – Abbey Hotel
12.10 Laghey- Kees of Laghey Shop
12.20 Balintra-Village shop

Conference start time: 1.00pm | Finish: 5.30. Refreshments will be provided free of charge during the conference. Pick up for return transfers after the conference will be directly outside the Abbey Arts Centre after the conference.

If you are interested please email us at: info@connectmentalhealth.ie with your preferred pickup place and a contact number or alternatively send a private message to our Facebook page.