Chris’s House in Saint Aidan’s
St Aidan’s High School received a very special visit on Monday 30th October. Every student was invited to attend a mental health awareness workshop at assembly.
The school was visited by “Chris’s House” which stands for “Centre of Help, Response and Intervention Surrounding Suicide”. The organisation started up to help offer people who are going through some difficult times in life a safe environment.
The well trained staff are there to encourage people of any age to come forward and speak up about their crisis. The organisations motto “Let’s Talk” clearly shows that the staff and members want anyone who needs to have a chat about what they’re going through to feel free to contact Chris’s House as they want to help.
Sixth year student journalists David Russell and Chris Quigley went on to interview Mrs. Kathleen Keeney, the Depute Head Teacher who organised the event. She said “With Chris’s house coming in today, we’ve just touched on the large amount of support that’s available to us.”
Mrs Keeney added “It’s good for our young people to know that people are here to help, whether it be a pupil support teacher, or Chris’s house, there’s always support”. Mrs Keeney went on to say “I hope that pupils and staff have raised awareness of the importance of looking after their mental health. I think as well as looking after each other, people knowing it is okay not to be okay is vital. It’s okay to ask for help, and Chris’s house are here to offer help”.
The workshop was highly interactive and the team from Chris’s House received a great reception from the young people of Saint Aidan’s High. Activities included a focus on developing self-esteem and a highly interactive and colourful demonstration about the power of connections between people as a way to develop personal strength. Sixth year photographer Reece Larkins put himself into the heart of the event to secure some fantastic photographs of the students getting involved in the activities.
The organisation was founded by Anne Rowan who created it following the suicide of her own son Chris in 2011. Sixth year student journalists Rebecca and Hollie McConville took the opportunity to speak at length to Anne after the final workshop event of the day.
They discovered that her aim is to create a place where people can get the correct help they need: the help that her son who was suffering from PTSD was deprived of. Chris’s House is not partnered with any other agencies but if somebody comes to Chris’s House in need of help regarding sexual abuse or domestic violence they are signposted to another agency. Volunteer Lynn spoke about the loss of her own son in 2013. Although she did not lose him to suicide she saw Anne speaking at an event during what she said was one of her darkest days. Anne was able to give her hope. Lynn said “I just had to reach out to that woman and tell her I was willing to help, and that’s where it started for me.”
As a non-medical based service their motto “Let’s Talk” promotes their use of counselling services and holistic therapies which work really well with all of the visitors at Chris’s House.
Lynn emphasised her enthusiasm for the event by telling our student journalists that she thought visiting schools was vital, commenting, “It’s so important to catch people at a very young age and let them know that their mental wellness is just as important as their physical wellness. A lot of people who visit Chris’ House have suffered from mental illness at a young age and have been medicated. To then realise that when you get to a certain level medication isn’t helping anymore. So our job is to find alternatives to medication that work for each individual.”
The positive response of the students to the input of Chris’s Houses staff was a great indicator of how successful the day was. Mrs. Keeney, who attended all the workshops, was somewhat tired – to say the least- by the end of a great day, commented, “This was such an important day for our young people. Bringing the issue of mental health into the open can only be a positive step for everyone.”
Journalism by Rebecca, Hollie, Chris and David
Photo Editing and Communications by Reece
