Highlands & Islands MSP sponsors parliamentary event to mark 50 years of Change Mental Health

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick hosted an event on behalf of Change Mental Health in the Scottish Parliament this week. The Scottish charity, previously known as Support in Mind Scotland, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Ms Roddick opened the event with a speech exploring her own experience of mental illness and her previous work with the charity. Ms Roddick went on to thank Change Mental Health for its service and positive impact in Scotland.

Speaking on the event, Ms Roddick said:

“I was delighted to be able to sponsor this event for Change Mental Health, a charity I have immense respect for and which has been providing life-changing mental health support across Scotland for 50 years now.  It has been a real pleasure to engage with them, including collaborating on anti-stigma campaigning and visiting their DBI service in Inverness to hear about the difference this is making.

“I was grateful to have the opportunity to touch on my own personal experiences and talk about mental health in the Highlands and Islands, too.

“It was great to see such a big turnout for the event and to get cross-party support from MSPs. I was very grateful to all the members who came along and engaged with the incredible Change Mental Health team, and other guests including partners from the Rural Mental Health Forum.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the Change Mental Health team on our shared goals to end mental health stigma and change mental health policy in Scotland for the better.”

Notes

• Change Mental Health is a delivery partner of the Scottish Government’s Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme. The DBI programme was established as part of the government’s work on the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health strategies and works to improve the response to people presenting in distress across Scotland. More information can be found on the website: https://www.dbi.scot/