Mental health volunteers sought

A PROGRAMME aimed at changing the lives of people struggling with their mental health is looking for volunteers in Argyll and Bute.

See Me, the national programme to end mental health stigma, is looking for community champions in Argyll and Bute to help stop the ‘unfair discrimination’ people still experience if they have a mental health problem.

Latest figures from a YouGov poll of 1,004 Scottish adults commissioned by See Me, show that 35 per cent of people in Scotland have either experienced stigma and discrimination because of their mental health, or know someone who has.

See Me champion Des Macmillan, from Oban, said: ‘Being a champion has made a massive difference to my own mental health issues. I have suffered since I was eight years old and I’m now 40. But the last two-and-a-half years I have been involved with See Me, it has been at its best.

‘I think it’s down to meeting people with similar experiences and thoughts and feeling a belonging to something. Being associated with See Me is a powerful tool to have. But it is not just about the organisation, it is about making a group of friends and bettering your life and other people’s lives.’

Champions will receive three, one-and-a-half day training sessions in Glasgow, held over two months, starting from Monday April 30. The deadline for applications is March 23. To apply, go to www.seemescotland.org.