REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF GROW COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH MOVEMENT
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF GROW COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH MOVEMENT ATHEA, CO. LIMERICK
Tá lúcháir orm bheith anseo libh inniu agus muid ag céiliúradh tríocha bliain ag dul chun chinn. Tá ard-mheas agam le fada an lá ar an obair atá ar siúl agaibh i GROW.
I was delighted to accept the invitation from Helen Leahy, the Chairperson of GROW, to join you here today in celebration of the 30th anniversary of GROW in Ireland. I think it is particularly appropriate that this occasion has been marked by the planting of a tree in honour of Fr. Sean O’Hanlon, the man who planted the seeds of this organisation in Ireland 30 years ago – seeds which have taken root and blossomed into one of Ireland’s largest mutual help organisations in the field of mental health.
Ill health of any kind is a frightening process, both for individuals and their families. That is even more true of mental ill-health, where the scars and trauma are invisible and public attitudes are skewed by centuries of fear and misunderstanding which compounds the isolation of sufferers. All too often, those attitudes have been absorbed and internalised by those with a mental illness, further adding to their sense of helplessness, hopelessness and low self-esteem.
GROW’s work over the past 30 years has made an enormous contribution to breaking that vicious circle. Its philosophy of ‘helping people to help themselves’ has given back to sufferers a real sense of self-acceptance and empowerment, enabling them to feel that they need no longer be passive victims of their illness. It has given people the confidence to share and discuss their fears in a supportive environment, to take control of their condition, to work towards healing themselves and healing those around them. It has enabled many of them to return to employment, to make a positive contribution to their community, to reclaim a sense of self-worth and the respect of those around them.
To make that first contact with GROW, to take that first step in self-healing – often after years of quiet desperation - requires enormous courage. I would like to pay tribute to all those who have participated in GROW’s network of self-help groups down through the years. Their refusal to abandon hope, even when the heavy weight of depression was at its worst, offers hope to the thousands of people whose lives remain blighted by the scourge of mental illness.
One of the most important aspects of GROW’s work has been in heightening public awareness of mental health issues, and dispelling the myths and misconceptions that are still prevalent. The reality is that almost every family in Ireland has had, or will have, some experience of mental illness. For it does not just affect the sufferer, but also family, friends, employers, colleagues and neighbours. Education has a key role to play in tackling prejudice and in getting across the message that help is available and can make an immeasurable difference to the lives of sufferers.
GROW could not have become the outstanding success that it is today if it were not for the extraordinary dedication and commitment of its volunteers throughout the country. Their energy and generosity of spirit has made a real difference to thousands of people – to thousands of lives which might have otherwise remained only half-lived. On behalf of all those people, I would like to say a warm, heartfelt thank you to all of those volunteers for caring and, more importantly, for doing something about it.
For the many people still trapped in despair, who have not yet dared open the door to the possibility of self-healing that GROW offers, these lines from the poem by Patrick Kavanagh, ‘From Failure Up’, capture the spirit of GROW:
‘Under the flat, flat grief of defeat maybe
Hope is a seed
Maybe this’s what he was born for, this hour
Of hopelessness.
Maybe it is here he must search’
Hope is a seed and like all seeds, it needs to be nurtured, tended carefully, so that it can blossom. It is there in each one of us. The search need not be a lonely journey, though it is a journey that no one else can go for us. But others can go with us – helping so that the seed is found and supported from fragility to robustness. With GROW’s help, that seed of hope can transform – it can reshape a life – find its strengths, develop the skills to cope with weakness, give purpose, bring an end to loneliness, offer real community.
I congratulate you all once again on your achievements to date and I wish you every success in your future work.
Go maire sibh.