Positive mental health and engaging with community

TWO walks celebrating positive mental health and encouraging people to reach out to those around them took place in Kilnamanagh last week.

The walks are part of a wider campaign called ‘Hello, How R U?’, that was founded in Carlow in 2015 and encourages people to go on walks and engage with people around them.

St Kevin’s Family Resource Centre in Kilnamanagh are strong proponents of the campaign, and last week held their second annual events as part of the campaign.

Last Thursday morning, a group of 22 children from the centre’s Bluebell childcare room undertook a walk, while the following day a group of 16 adults held an hour-long ‘Hello, How R U?’ walk.

The adults braved the elements for a walk around the ring road in Kilnamanagh, talking to the people they encountered on the way and spreading the message of positive mental health.

“We were going around with banners and posters to say what we were walking for, and people stopped and asked us, and we explained it to them,” said Lesley O’Reilly from the resource centre.

“I think it’s really important to promote positive mental health, there’s such an emphasis on being depressed or suicidal, but people don’t give enough credit to looking after their mental health.”

On the day, the adults stopped and asked numerous people they saw how they were and had brief chats with them.

“Everybody came back from the walk feeling really uplifted and that it was really beneficial for the community,” said Ms O’Reilly, who is the centre’s community and family development worker.

“Even though it was raining, it didn’t dampen anybody’s spirits!”

The staff at St Kevin’s Family Resource Centre are looking forward to getting involved in ‘Hello, How R U?’ again next year, when they hope it will be even bigger and better.

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