To coincide with World Suicide Prevention Week, Cycle against Suicide honoured the efforts and achievements of 45 secondary schools from all over Ireland recently, including St Joseph’s, Castlebar, in promoting positive mental health awareness and their dedication to spreading the message that ‘it’s OK not to feel OK; and it’s absolutely OK to ask for help’.
At a special reception in Dublin’s Farmleigh House, attended by the Department of Education and Science, the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, student representatives Aoife McHale and Tiwalde Yusaff from St Joseph’s were awarded Ambassador School status by Cycle Against Suicide, receiving a special plaque which is set to take pride of place in the school. This award acknowledges the school's exceptional commitment in the promotion of positive mental health and ultimately, its efforts in breaking the cycle of suicide across Ireland. Schools which received the award had to complete five keys sets of criteria in the promotion of mental health including getting active, hosting a mental health week, and project work.
