Student council behind book to be distributed to 13,000 schoolgoers

STUDENTS of Colaiste Bride relished the chance to throw wet sponges at their teachers in a fundraiser for a mental health guide which will be distributed free of charge to every second level student in County Wexford next September.

The Enniscorthy students also held a ‘Bad Head Day’ and raised almost €1,000 for the graphic design and distribution of the booklet which will be sent out to approximately 13,000 fellow schoolgoers.

The guide entitled ‘I Am Worth It’ gives advice and information on a range of mental health problems including depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, stress, anxiety, grief and alcohol and drug misuse along with contact numbers for helplines and services.

‘It’s specifically for teenagers. It’s an amazing booklet and we’re so proud of it,’ said teacher Niamh Wheeler who credited the Colaiste Bride student council with responsibility for the project.

Enniscorthy Credit Union is paying for the printing. Teachers Kiera O’ Sullivan, Niall Moynihan, Marian Dowling, Aisling McDonald have also helped out.

‘We saw it done in Kinsale and we wanted to adapt it to encourage positive mental health among our own students but then we decided to do it bigger and publish it for all students in the county’, said Niamh.

‘ The student council are behind the initiative. They did the fundraising and came up with the title.

‘ They ran a competition for the name and Chloe Wilson in TY came up with ‘I Am Worth It’ - worth stands for Wexford offers reliable teenage help’.