Duo on the road for mental health Posted: 4:18 pm February 24, 2021
By Jodie Curran
LOCAL duo Stephen Carters (Lisnaskea) and Amy Cadden (Donagh) are proof that the saying, ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ is much more than just a line from a Beatles song.
Having raised over £3,634 so for the Oak Healthy Living and Aisling Centre, the popular pair are determined to complete four miles every two hours over 24 hours on March 6 in aid of mental health and suicide awareness.
“Stevie gave me a ring one Monday morning and asked if I wanted to take on a challenge in March to raise money for these two amazing organisations and I jumped at the chance,” Amy told the Herald.
THE Aisling Centre in Enniskillen is offering a free, live, virtual wellbeing programme during February and March. Entitled, There is Always Hope , the aim of the programme is to help reduce stress and improve mental health, particularly in this time of Covid-19 restrictions. Bridie Sweeney, Centre Co-ordinator, said: The programme offers hope but perhaps just as importantly reminds us that there is always help available and Aisling Centre will be on hand to provide counselling and support as it has done all the way through this pandemic. Aisling Centre is ‘open’ and continues to accept new referrals with a very simple self-referral process, but Bridie noted that they are also aware that, as the pandemic drags on, people need connection with others and the support of knowing that they are not alone .
Hope event shared with hundreds all over the world Posted: 9:02 am January 18, 2021
By Linda Surphlis
ALMOST 700 people registered to virtually attend the Aisling Centre’s extremely successful ‘Hope, Healing and Growth’ event at the weekend.
A virtual day of inspiration went international as motivational speakers took to the screen to share their stories. Hundreds tuned in from the comfort of their living rooms on Saturday, January 9.
The packed line up saw the day open with Aisling Centre patron Adrian Dunbar reading from Seamus Heaney, The Cure of Troy outlining that a “farther shore is reachable from here” while urging everyone in the times we are in to “keep her lit.”
And that was before the psychological pressure that Covid put on many of us. Do you also realise it’s estimated that 213,000 people are affected by mental health issues in the supposed post-conflict era, many of them transferred down through generations? And do you remember the statistic that, in the 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement, up to the year 2018, more than 5,000 people died through suicide – that’s well over 1,000 more than those who died violently in The Troubles? At this time of year, we often use the term “the empty chair” and behind that expression many people struggle at Christmas as they remember loved ones that used to share happy festive times with us; memories of people over the years, however they passed away.