Expressway, Ireland’s premium inter-regional coach service, has partnered up with Grow Mental Health to raise awareness of mental health challenges.
Customers will see a photo exhibition with Stories of Recovery and Hope in Ballina bus station for two weeks. The display started in Busáras, Dublin and moved to Waterford, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Letterkenny, Sligo, Drogheda, Dundalk and Tralee Bus Station before moving to Ballina this week.
This partnership initiative is to promote positive mental health and raise vital funds for Grow Mental Health, the non-profit group. Expressway is also supporting the Grow Yellow Walk on Sunday 17 April by asking the public to wear yellow and get out walking for just 30 minutes, to raise vital funds for mental health supports. You can walk wherever it is you wish and if you are not available on Easter Sunday, you can walk on any day that is suitable for you.
As one of Ireland’s longest standing mental health charities, empowering and supporting over 1,000 people weekly, Grow Mental Health, which was set up in 1969, has recorded a 400% year on year increase in demand for services since the pandemic began. Delivering a national network of peer support groups to local communities through a tailored 12-Step program of Recovery and Growth, the group is delighted with the launch of this exhibition, documenting its members’ stories.
Ruth Mangan, Area Coordinator for the Western Region, Grow Mental Health, said: "It is excellent to see Grow Mental Health in partnership with Bus Éireann give people the opportunity to share their personal stories with the broader public. The hope is that these stories will reach people that need to hear them and provide them with some encouragement to seek support.
"Grow has over 100 groups across Ireland, providing peer support for those that need it. Covid has shown us that we are all impacted by sadness, isolation, anxiety, and grief. We all can benefit from having supportive networks and coping mechanisms to withstand the struggles of everyday life. Creating avenues for positive mental health benefits individuals to move forward in their lives and helps build more understanding in communities."
Brian Connolly, Senior Regional Operations Manager, West, Bus Éireann said: “We are extremely proud to partner up with Grow Mental Health and show their members' stories of recovery and hope in our Ballina Bus Station. We would encourage all of our customers in Mayo to take a minute and read these stories of recovery and hope in our bus station over the coming weeks. We hope this partnership initiative promotes positive mental health and raises vital funds for Grow Mental Health.”
For further information about the partnership or the services provided by Grow Mental Health visit www.grow.ie
