Aug 02
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Young campaigners meet Minister to demand mental health reform

By | General, News, Newsroom

Young campaigners have held a Zoom meeting with Health Minister Robin Swann to call for urgent action to create a mental health strategy for Northern Ireland.

Members of the Elephant in the Room (EITR) campaign group wappeared before the Executive Work Group on Mental Wellbeing, Resilience and Suicide Prevention on July 29 to demand wide-ranging mental health reform.

John Jo McGrady, Chairperson of Belfast Youth Forum, has seen many of his close friends suffer from the effects of poor mental health and the lack of support to deal with the problem.

He called on the Executive to address the crisis: “The time for change is now. Mental health has been overlooked for too long. This meeting gives us a genuine opportunity to meet with the full Executive with all departments represented to give practical and effective solutions.”

Niamh Mallaghan, a member of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum Executive Committee, said: “This campaign gives young people the opportunity to make their voices heard at the highest level to make the changes needed to end the misery of poor mental health, self-harm and suicide.”

Alliance Party MLA Chris Lyttle added: “I support the need for the Northern Ireland Executive to prioritise and deliver improved mental health and wellbeing provision for our society.  I asked the Health Minister to meet with young people from the Elephant In The Room campaign and to allocate officials and resources at his disposal to support the delivery of the substantive proposals made by this youth-led campaign.”

Back in 2017, the Elephant in the Room group, set up by Belfast City Council Youth Forum and the Northern Ireland Youth Forum, produced the first research report created by young people for young people.   A total of 1,117 young people participated in the research.

The report called on the Executive to:

  • Support the creation of a youth-led, government backed mental health campaign, challenging the culture of silence and negative stigma
  • Work with young people to develop a new and positive language around mental health by creating a ‘mental health dictionary’ which could be used as part of a mental health curriculum programme.
  • Create a compulsory curriculum programme for all schools and colleges on mental health and wellbeing that helps to raise awareness and challenge stigma and allows young people to access consistent mental health information.
  • Create a website for young people designed by young people to provide mental health information, support and raise awareness and challenge stigma.

Aug 02
0

Mid Ulster boy’s lockdown nature film receives UK-wide plaudits

By | Charities, Creative Industries, Film, General

A ten-year-old Mid Ulster boy’s heart-warming nature film has been named as a runner-up in a prestigious UK-wide filmmaking competition that took place over lockdown.

Joe, who has autism, was recognised for his short documentary entered into the Nature in My Neighbourhood competition run by film education charity Into Film.

The competition aimed to capture a very unique moment in time as shown by the hundreds of short film entries by 5-19 year olds. Entries flooded in at an unprecedented level forming a true ‘time capsule’ of young people’s experience celebrating their connections with nature as a metaphor for hope during lockdown.

St Malachy’s Primary School Drummullan pupil Joe decided to film at Mid-Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown where his favourite rabbits live in a burrow that he visits every day.

“I feel excited I won! I thought the competition was cool because I love animals. I wanted to film the rabbits because they are cute and they have nice cosy homes,” he said.

Into Film launched the filmmaking competition at the beginning of May as a response to the Covid 19 school closures and as part of an extensive home learning campaign supporting young people, educators, parents and carers teaching from home. Hundreds of short films from children as young as 7, made on their smart phones, tablets and cameras were sent in and showed a heart-warmingly positive response to their connection with nature during lockdown.

Joe’s mum Colleen said: “Joe had a fantastic time talking about all the animals. He has autism so he doesn’t always branch out to do certain things but immensely enjoyed this.”

Into Film is an education charity that puts film at the centre of children and young people’s learning and is supported by the BFI through National Lottery funding.

Sean Kelly, who is based in the Belfast office of Into Film, said: “This competition was a really positive way for young people to creatively use film to document this period in their lives. Joe’s film shows all the things he loves along his daily walk and his enthusiasm for nature shines through.”

For further information about Into Film go to www.intofilm.org or to see Joe’s film go to https://vimeo.com/429749393

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Aug 02
0

Emergency action needed as women bear the brunt of Covid-19

By | News, Newsroom

The Northern Ireland Executive must take emergency action to address the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women.

The Women’s Policy Group (WPG), which represents the interests of women in Northern Ireland, today (July 29 at 2pm) launched its recovery plan detailing how the pandemic has affected women and setting out recommendations to address gender inequality in Northern Ireland.

The Covid-19 Feminist Recovery Plan looks at the economic, health, social and cultural impact of Covid-19 and calls on the Executive to implement policies on key issues such as childcare and low paid work.

Rachel Powell, Women’s Sector lobbyist, said that the voices of women must be heard as the Northern Ireland Executive plans for recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

She said: “Women are bearing the brunt of the crisis economically and socially. Statistics show that 79% of health and social care staff are women, 85% of part time workers are women, while 70% of workers ineligible for statutory sick pay are women and face losing their income if they stay at home.”

The detailed report calls for emergency economic and social measures across a wide range of issues. One example of the support needed is to provide universal and free childcare as essential for economic recovery, post pandemic. It argues that it will not be possible to transition out of full lockdown without tackling this issue.

Ms Powell added: “Inequalities facing women have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and childcare is no exception. Many women face stark choices between their work and childcare commitments, as school closures and limited access to childcare settings creates significant challenges for families.

“We are calling on the Northern Ireland Executive and all Ministerial Departments to work with the women’s sector and childcare sector to develop an effective strategy that will address these inequalities.”

The 126 page report argues that despite vast evidence highlighting the effect of Covid-19 on women, the Northern Ireland Executive has largely ignored the gender implications of the crisis. If this continues to be the case, women will suffer disproportionately for many years beyond the pandemic and decades of progress on equality will be lost.

It sums up: “If the Northern Ireland Executive truly wants to end gender inequality in Northern Ireland, we need to see a commitment to substantive acknowledgement of the gendered harms of Covid-19 and meaningful steps to address these.

“We want to work with the government, and all departments, to ensure that all policymakers are aware of the negative impact certain policy decisions are having on women. We have the expertise to inform Covid-19 recovery planning and we have the evidence needed to inform relevant strategies, legislation and the Programme for Government.”

The plan has been supported by the All-Party Group on Women, Peace and Security with many MLA’s and civil servants attending the online launch of the document and pledging support to bring forward the recommended actions.

To access the summary of recommendations go to: https://wrda.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WPG-Feminist-Recovery-Plan-Summary-of-Recommendations.pdf

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Aug 02
0

Education Minister to face youth panel to address post lockdown concerns

By | General, News, Newsroom

Education Minister Peter Weir will face questions from a panel of young people about their future as Northern Ireland emerges from lockdown.

The Minister is holding a Zoom meeting on Monday morning with members of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum (NIYF) to address a range of issues including his department’s preparation for the return to school and the plight of university students facing uncertainty as a result of the pandemic.

The questions are based on the concerns expressed by hundreds of young people in two surveys carried out by the NIYF at the beginning and height of the pandemic. Respondents felt that their views have not been considered, with 88% stating the importance of young people being part of the decision-making process.

Questions include how schools will operate effectively once young people return in September; what extra help will be available to support children who have fallen behind with schoolwork and what support the Department of Education will put in place for students preparing to go to university.

The panel of young people will challenge the Minister on whether his department has any plans to introduce support for university graduates facing a decrease in job prospects as a result of Covid-19.

And they will call on the Minister to introduce additional resources for schools and youth services plus support to enable disadvantaged families access to laptops, tablets and internet for home schooling.

One of those taking part in the meeting, NIYF Vice Chair, Oisín-Tomás ó Raghallaigh, said:

 “’NIYF’s Covid-19 surveys highlighted the diverse range of issues that young people, youth organisations, educational Institutions and parents/carers have faced and will continue to face during the pandemic and beyond. We look forward to highlighting these issues with Peter Weir and discussing positive and practical actions which can be taken.”

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