Mental health seminar for
local youth

A series of mental health seminars for young people entitled ‘Sport Your Mind’ have been launched by Midlands Rugby in conjunction with the HSE Midlands Health Promotion & Improvement section.

The event in Longford takes place on Wednesday, September 24 next at 7pm in Longford Rugby Club.

Joe Schmidt, Head Coach of the Irish Rugby team welcomed the opportunity being given to coaches, trainers and parents to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in youth mental health, thus enabling them to encourage positive mental health in young people.

“Players train two or three times a week in an effort to improve their physical ability but the ‘Sport your Mind’ events encourage youngsters to understand that their mental health needs a workout too from time to time,” he said, adding “It is great that Midlands Rugby clubs are hosting the delivery of these events by HSE Midlands Health Promotion & Improvement.”

‘Sport your Mind’ introduces basic, foundational information on Youth Mental Health, suitable for community-active sports settings, highlighting early warning signs of mental health difficulties among young people and the range of support services available to young people in need of additional support and services.

Josephine Rigney, Acting Suicide Prevention Resource Officer, HSE Midlands said, “Targeted skills based intervention combined with raising awareness and providing information is fundamental to the delivery of suicide prevention and positive mental health initiatives.”

For further information on ‘Sport Your Mind’ in Longford contact Damien Curley at 086 2757103. All are welcome.