LONGER READ: More volunteers are key for Mikeysline in Inverness
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PUPILS in the Highlands could be given lessons on life skills and coping with everyday situations by a pioneering suicide prevention charity.
Teaching youngsters how to manage their mental health is just one of the ambitions highlighted by two mothers and businesswomen taking up key roles with Inverness-based Mikeysline as it embarks on a new chapter.
Donna Smith, who runs business improvement service Thystle, is the new chairwoman while Dawn MacDougall, a chartered accountant and head of Ernst and Young’s Inverness office, has become a non-executive chief executive.
Mrs Smith (47), of Invergordon, takes over from founder Ron Williamson who is stepping down from the charity originally set up as a text-for-help hotline service for people experiencing thoughts of depression, anxiety, worry or stress following the suicide of his nephew four years ago.
As the mother of two daughters, aged 11 and 13, Mrs Smith is aware of the pressures facing young people today and is backing her predecessor’s calls that schools should provide resilience training to help improve pupils’ ability to bounce back from everyday setbacks.
“It is about giving them skills so hopefully in later life they are able to deal with challenging situations,” said Mrs Smith who acknowledged life could be tough. “With a mental health issue, you never know what is going to trigger it.”
Although the proposed project is still at the discussion stage, the aim is to run a pilot workshop in a school.
“Kids are now so exposed to a constant barrage of stuff through social media,” she said.
“When I was a kid and you went to school, you had bullies and difficulties but generally when you came away from school it stopped. Nowadays it doesn’t. People can text you and post things on social media. I think that puts a different pressure on kids. The whole landscape has changed entirely and it is about teaching different skills to handle all of it.”
As a newcomer to Mikeysline, she pays tribute to what has already been achieved by staff and volunteers in raising awareness of mental health issues and promoting the idea that “it’s OK not to be OK”.
“That is important in itself as it encourages people to talk about these things,” said Mrs Smith, who as a former deputy chief executive of the Crofting Commission saw how the region’s geography could result in a sense of isolation.
“There are a lot of people living in remote places who are cut off from help or live in a traditional society where it would be frowned upon if you had a problem.
“People would telephone and really all they wanted was to chat to someone as opposed to calling us about business we needed to deal with.
“The geography of the Highlands does bring its own challenges in supporting people with mental health issues and this is something which interests me.”
She hoped the charity’s Hive drop-in service in Academy Street could be extended in some way to other areas across the Highlands.
Mrs MacDougall, of Culduthel, has been part of the local business community for 20 years.
“Understanding that the Highlands has one of the highest suicide rates in the UK, I am acutely aware of the pressure on young people today and the ensuing mental health implications,” said the 56-year-old, who is married with a 24-year-old daughter.
“I was keen to support a local charity working to tackle some of these challenges and Mikeysline is doing great work in this area.
“Mikeysline does an incredible job in our local community and it’s an honour to be invited to join the board of trustees.
“We have all been impacted by mental health issues at some point in our lives and the support system around us and our networks is vital to managing our wellbeing.”
She felt social media, new technology and a sense that everyday dealings had to be dealt with immediately added to modern-day pressures.
Mrs MacDougall said key goals would be to recruit volunteers to maintain the charity’s high service levels and to expand the range of services provided across the region where chronic loneliness and isolation is becoming an increasing challenge.
Mikeysline is already in the process of recruiting a service manager and two new trustees – possibly someone from a professional mental health background and some with experience in submitting funding bids.
“I am looking forward to working with the experienced and committed team at Mikeysline who provide support for our service users,” Mrs MacDougall said.
“As we continue to see an increased number of service users, both on the textline and our drop-in centre, we need to ensure we continue to support our staff and volunteers with adequate supervision and training.”
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