Amnesty International's Public Meeting on Mental Health

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Friday November 10, 2006 12:02 by Karol Balfe - Amnesty International

Amnesty will present an outline of its new Mental Health Lobbying Network and invite public input on issues of concern on mental health services. We are also looking for suggestions on how this lobbying network should operate and what issues should be raised.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MEETING ON MENTAL HEALTH

Date: Wednesday 29th November 2006
Venue: Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin
Time: 7pm to 9 pm

Do you feel like mental health has never been a priority for Irish Governments?

Do you feel this is a denial of basic human rights?

Do you want to learn more about what you can do?

Mental Health: Let’s Make it Happen!
Everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health

What is the public meeting about?
Amnesty will present an outline of its new Mental Health Lobbying Network and invite public input on issues of concern on mental health services. We are also looking for suggestions on how this lobbying network should operate and what issues should be raised.

What is the Mental Health Lobbying Network?
On October 10th 2006, to mark World Mental Health Day, Amnesty launched its Mental Health Lobbying Network. The Network offers monthly actions, resources and advice to individual members of the public who want to take part in directly lobbying their elected government representatives for improvement in mental health promotion, prevention and services. Over the next two years, Amnesty will provide training and capacity-building resources to Network members through regional meetings.

The focal point for the Network will be the new national policy on mental health, A Vision for Change, published in January 2006. If this policy were implemented in full, it would go a long way towards bringing Ireland into compliance with its international human rights obligations. We need to make sure this happens. Together we can press the Irish Government to give mental health the priority it deserves.

Who might be interested in attending?
We invite everyone interested in learning more about or inputting into this campaign and Network – services users, mental health professionals, teachers, etc. - to attend this meeting. There is a vast constituency whose voices are not being heard by Government.

Please let us know if you plan to attend, by contacting Karol Balfe, Campaigns Officer, at 01-677 6361 or info@amnesty.ie. If you like to join the Lobbying Network, please contact us or email mentalhealth@amnesty.ie. See www.amnesty.ie for information about our campaign.

We would love to see you there. Together our voices are louder!