New mental health website for local community launched

A new mental health website – which has been entirely designed and put together by people who have experienced mental health problems – will be ‘go live’ on 18th July.

The website has been developed by a group of people at Mirfield Day Centre over the last two years, and it will be launched to celebrate the renaming of Mirfield Day Centre as ‘Pathways .

The website: www.headstrong.be contains poems, art work, music and stories- all by people who have experienced mental health problems.

The idea behind the website is to change people’s perception of mental illness and the group hope it will be visited by people with mental health problems, staff and members of the public.

Gary Settle – one of the website developers says, "We want to show a different side to people with mental health problems – we can be artistic, creative, musical, technical. People with mental health problems don’t just sit at home all day pumped on medication like people might think and this website challenges some of these stereotypes. It’s about recovery, sharing experiences and promoting positive images of mental health."

The website will be updated every month and it’s hoped it can become a place where people can discuss issues, increase their knowledge of mental health and contribute artwork, stories and poetry.

John South – another of the website developers – said, "There might be people in the community who are suffering in silence. Through the website they might see all the positive work that is going on here, and see how people can recover from mental health problems. It might push them to get the help they need. There might also be people who feel that no one is listening to them, through the discussion boards people will have a place to express their thoughts and feelings."