Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick sponsors Scottish Parliament event marking half a century of charity Change Mental Health

A Highland MSP cast light on her own battles with mental health issues while hosting a parliamentary event celebrating the 50th anniversary of a Scottish charity.

Change Mental Health, previously known as Support in Mind Scotland, is now a delivery partner for the Scottish Government’s Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme.

The DBI programme was established as part of the government’s work on suicide prevention and mental health strategies and works to improve responses to people in distress across Scotland.

Emma Roddick MSP opened the event with a speech exploring her own experiences of mental illness and her previous work with the charity.

She went on to thank Change Mental Health for its service and positive impact in Scotland.

“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,” Ms Roddick said.

“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.”

More information can be found here on the DBI website.

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