Hey! My name is Julie, I'm from Northern Ireland.

I love my country, it has some of the most stunning scenery, the people are amazing craic, the food is hard-to-beat, the culture is rich and the Guinness is perfectly poured.

However, we are dealing with a crisis. Over 300 people are dying every year due to suicide. over 5000 people have taken their own life since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. 30 years of violence and unrest has taken its toll and we are desperately underfunded. Waiting lists for mental health care are 24 times higher here than England and Wales combined. Anti-anxiety drug dependency is 5 times higher in NI than anywhere else in the UK. Half of all mental health issues arise at the age of 14, and 45,000 children in the North have been diagnosed with a mental health issue.

Being only in my early 20’s, I already know a handful of people who have lost their lives to suicide. I know many more who have considered it.

Post Pieces was founded by NI born Peter Heenan and aims to explore Mental Health through art. Despite being a small charity, their work is growing, and Post Pieces postcards can be spotted all over the UK. They recently facilitated a series of workshops in the Cresent Arts Centre in Belfast and are planning more NI based projects for the near future. So, I would love for the money raised to go towards these projects.

WEBSITE: https://postpieces.wixsite.com/website

I have my own journey with mental health, which I won't go too deep into, but for many years I struggled alone. I felt a lot of shame about feeling down. I couldn't navigate through my feelings, and so, I was never truly myself around others. Perhaps, if I had not felt so embarrassed about not being okay, I would have got help and entered recovery a lot earlier. Post Pieces aims to open up this sort of conversation, to spread awareness through creativity, and to break the stigma.

I am still discovering ways of embracing the mad rollercoaster that is my brain. It has been a long and complex journey. This growth has been aided by rediscovering a passion for fitness and the outdoors. With living in the middle of no-where and having no-where to go during the lockdown, I fixed up a forgotten road racing bike from the shed. So, this September I plan to cycle 300 miles and each penny raised will go towards Post-Pieces. I will regularly update this page with my Strava stats. Please donate if you can, anything helps.

Remember that YOU ARE ENOUGH! Every feeling is temporary. It is okay to not be okay. Talk about it. Together we can help break the stigma around mental health and gain the courage to seek the help we need. You got this.

Love,

Julie xx