To: All members of the Church of Ireland. 

 

Re: MindMattersCOI – Call for Mental Health Champions – 

 

 

Firstly, thank you for your support with the Church of Ireland Mental Health Promotion project – MindMattersCOI. Over 1200 lay members and 50% of the clergy responded to the survey. The results of the research will be available in December on our website and some initial findings are below.

 

Champions: The next phase of the project will focus on improving mental health literacy (defined below) and the Bishop has put a call out to all clergy and lay members of the Church of Ireland seeking mental health champions. We hope that you might consider signing up to find out more, and also sharing this request with your congregations, friends and other Church of Ireland members. Depending on the volunteer’s time, this role can range from encouraging positive conversations about mental health to applying for funding for local mental health initiatives to creating links with mental health organisations in your Diocese. There will also be a wide variety of training on offer.

 

For more information please visit the MindMattersCOI website at https://mindmatters.ireland.anglican.org. Here you can register to sign up and attend an introductory conversation on the project and the role of a champion. No further commitment is required at this stage.

 

Some initial project findings:

·         The Church of Ireland has an important role in promoting positive mental health

·         Bishops can provide the strong leadership required to effect positive and lasting change in relation to mental health attitudes and awareness

·         Covid-19 had had a significant impact on people’s mental health

·         Family, friends and other connections are key contributors to positive mental health

·         Mental health still carries a significant level of stigma

·         A significant number of clergy feel that the Church currently does not provide sufficient support for their mental health

·         Connections matter in seeking support and having good mental health

 

Contact the Project Team:

If you have any questions, email the team at: mhp@rcbdub.org or visit the project website at: https://mindmatters.ireland.anglican.org. The next meet and greet for potential champions is Thursday, 25th November (AM) or Monday, 29th November (PM)

 

For your information, the project team is chaired by Bishop Pat Storey and the membership includes Rebekah Fozzard, Eddie Hallissey, Robert Dunne, Margaret Yarr and Christine Cody, all from the Representative Church Body.

 

Many thanks,

Rebekah & the team

 

 

 

Rebekah Fozzard

Manager – Special Projects & Data Protection Officer

Representative Church Body, Church of Ireland House, Church Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin 6, D06 CF67, Ireland

| + 353 1 4125 660 | rcb.ireland.anglican.org |