Join us to Walk a Mile in North Lanarkshire

Posted by See Me, 20 June 2018

NORTH Lanarkshire is set to host a the next Walk a Mile event of the summer.

Our community champion Donna is arranging two simultaneous a Walk a Mile events to get the people in the area talking about mental health.

The aim of the events, which will take place in Wishaw and Newmains on June 30^th, is to show that mental health can be a topic of everyday conversations, and we are all responsible for creating positive attitudes around it. The walks follow a number of tragic suicides in the area.

The Walk a Mile campaign was created by See Me with activist Chris McCullough Young, based on his walk around the edge of Scotland, where he spoke to everyone he met about mental health, to change attitudes one conversation at a time.

So far thousands of people have taken part in Walks across Scotland, bringing together health professionals, carers, people with lived experience of mental health problems, students, or anyone who cares about tackling mental health discrimination, to break down barriers as they walk a mile in each other’s shoes.

Donna, 51, from Newmains, said: "We as a community need to start this conversation and be supportive of one another.

“We all have mental health as we have physical health. I would like to see people talking about their mental health as openly as they talk about their physical health, to let people see that they are not along and there is support out there.

“Due to recent suicides within my area, I want to let people know that there is help out there in their local community. You don't need to feel alone.”

Calum Irving, See Me director, said: “Mental health affects all of us, but there is still a stigma around it. To tackle this properly people need to understand that it is okay not to be okay.

“One of the best ways to change how people think and behave is to make mental health a topic in day to day conversation, rather than a taboo subject people don’t want to talk about.”

Anyone is free to join either of the walks, which both begin at 1pm. One leaves from The NCT Centre 15 Manse Road, Newmains. North Lanarkshire. The other from Centre Point Gowkthrapple Community Hub 70 Smith Avenue, Gowkthrapple Wishaw.

Both walks end at the Overtown Parish Church 146 Main Street Overtown, where there will be tea, cake and stalls on local mental health organisations, and talks beginning from 2.30pm.

Donnna (centre) on her Pedal for Scotland cycle last year