Shine to hold public talk on mental health

Shine, the organisation that supports people affected by mental ill health, will hold a public talk entitled 'Hearing Voices’ in Tullamore on Thursday next as part of the Offaly Mental Health Talk Campaign.
The talk will be held in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Thursday, March 20, from 7pm to 9pm.
Shine is the national organisation dedicated to upholding the rights and addressing the needs of all those affected by mental ill health, through the promotion and provision of high-quality services and working to ensure the continual enhancement of the quality of life of the people it serves.
Karen Boylan, Shine’s Midlands Regional Support and Information Officer, has invited Brian Hartnett, Hearing Voices Ireland (HVI) to Tullamore to talk about his personal experience of hearing voices and how this led him to work in the area of mental health, and go on to establish Hearing Voices Ireland.
Karen says: “The aim of this public talk is to demystify the experience of hearing voices.”  
Shine staff and HVI encounter people who are affected by the experience of hearing voices on a daily basis and Brian Hartnett’s personal story is one of recovery, managing his voices, and the directions the experience has led him to follow.
Shine and HVI have also delivered Hearing Voices workshops in the Midlands region.
It is hoped to develop people’s capacity in terms of the support we give to people who hear voices and to expand upon our knowledge, understanding, skills and practice approaches in that regard.
OMHTW believes that public talks like this will allow the community to have a better understanding of positive mental health and recovery and lessen the feeling of isolation that may be experienced by people with mental ill health, or indeed people who have experiences of hearing voices.
The Hearing Voices public talk is free of charge to attend. All are welcome.