REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT AWARE’S NATIONAL DAY OF CELEBRATION DURING THEIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT AWARE’S NATIONAL DAY OF CELEBRATION DURING THEIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY GRESHAM HOTEL, DUBLIN
Dia dhíbh go léir a chairde. Is mór an onóir dom é a bheith anseo inniu ar ócáid ceiliúradh comóradh fiche cúig bliain an Aware. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom. I’m very grateful to your Chairman David Carton, CEO Kevin Smyth and PRO Sandra Hogan for inviting me to join you here today.
It’s a real pleasure to be here in the room packed with people who passionately believe in that mental ill-health does not have to lead into a cul-de sac and that with help and support there is a pathway to a better, a happier and more fulfilling life. Aware volunteers and supporters have made this work of care for those suffering from mental ill-health, their special vocation and mission and for the past quarter of a century you have listened, comforted, advised, befriended and guided so many others, helping them deal with depression and to regain control of their lives. Today’s anniversary celebrations are a very welcome chance to say thank you to all those who have contributed to the success of Aware over these twenty-five years, the men and women who founded the organisation, the volunteers, sponsors, fundraisers and funders who allowed it to thrive and develop and in particular the men, women and young people who sought its help in their lives and whose faith in Aware gave it the fuel, the vindication that has kept it going and growing.
It has been said that mental health issues do not affect three or four out of every five persons, but one out of every one. That is why Aware’s blanket of care is spread widely over the individuals living with depression, their families and their social circles, for all have a crucial role to play in dealing with mental ill-health and all are affected by its effects and consequences. We have a vested interest as a society in Aware’s work and its success – even more so now when economic concerns are stretching and straining the coping skills of people in all walks of life. Successfully overcoming the challenges that are facing households and businesses across the country, and all of us as a society, will require us to dig deep into our reservoirs of resilience and resourcefulness. It requires strong individuals but it also requires a depth of community solidarity and mutual care which like the meitheal of old, got us through many a crisis. Aware is itself an organisation in the meitheal tradition. It is skilled and experienced in this difficult field, for mental ill-health is present among us in good times and in bad. How many people who suffer from depression feel at their loneliest and most isolated in a crowded room full of noise and camaraderie and bonhomie? How many are driven into silence by the apparent ease and contentment of others, the apparent strength of others? How many are locked into suppressed despair because of stigmatising attitudes to mental illness? How many have to deal with the impatience of others with their depression or the estrangement that can come when mental illness skews relationships? It can seem very difficult to find a quiet space of acceptance, where there is an open invitation to talk, to be listened to with empathy, to be given a ray of hope for a better future.
Aware noticed all those gaps and set itself the job of filling them. The volunteers are non-judgmental, compassionate and above all reassuring that there is help available, there is the possibility of conquering depression and constructing a life beyond its paralysing grip.
Huge numbers have sought help and support from Aware over these twenty-five years and every one of them indicates the extent of the need for the service that Aware offers. Every one who has accessed those services is a person who has shown a courage and determination to shift their lives into a positive kilter not by handing their lives over entirely to someone else but by asking a competent person to guide and accompany them on a tough part of life’s journey, so that a new and more attractive destination can open up, so that life is not experienced as a neglected and overlooked cul-de sac.
Aware’s success is evident in the ways in which its service has been shaped and reshaped over the years, so that today it embraces the up front and personal support group as well as online or e-mail access to support. It is evident in the way in which your advocacy has helped change social attitudes to mental ill-health, encouraging greater openness about its prevalence, promoting good mental health education and practice, making us all more immediately aware of the importance of looking after our mental health as well as our physical health. You can look back with pride at twenty-five years of significant change thanks to your decision to become champions of those who suffer from depression. Now you begin the next twenty-five knowing there is still a lot to be accomplished for there is still a lot of suffering, but now no-one needs to suffer alone or in silence, for as a friend you have been tested and tried these twenty-five years and in all you have done you have proven over and over how right it was to found this organisation twenty-five years ago.
A special thanks to all of you, for your tremendous work. Enjoy this Anniversary celebration and may it give you the energy and enthusiasm to set out in hope at the beginning of the twenty-five years ahead. Go raibh mile maith agaibh go léir.