ASK
NOMINATION: WEXFORD SOCIAL ENTERPRISE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
THE ask mental health awareness campaign, spearheaded by former Mayor of Wexford, Cllr. Frank Staples encourages open conversation around mental health illness and implores people to start the conversation, to ask for help, to ask “are you ok”?. The campaign promotes mental health awareness and is built around a very simple concept which everyone can engage in. Frank has openly discussed his own battle with bi polar illness and encourages people to remove the mask and share their debilitating illness with family and friends.
2017 saw the inaugural “Dawn walk” awareness walk which was attended by almost 600 people and this event will run again in August of this year. Ask presentations and personal talks have been delivered to a number of gaa clubs, rugby clubs, local communities and work places over the past year with many more in the diary for the coming 6 months including an event with secondary schools in the Wexford district. The ask campaign joined forces with the Irish Vintners Association before Christmas with a 2 page article in the Vintners magazine aswell as delivery of ask posters to all affiliated Vintners members throughout Ireland. The campaign message is disseminated through awareness posters, campaign leaflets and various communication tools in the form of keyrings, pens, beermats and wristbands.
The campaign has been embraced and fully supported by the people of Wexford and beyond and strives to continue to promote mental health awareness and encourage first conversations around mental health illness.