Debate contribution: Mental Illness: Reducing Stigma

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 21 January 2025.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

21 January 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Mental Illness: Reducing Stigma

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4749935

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle.

I too thank the proposer of the motion, my colleague Órlaithí Flynn. As others said, Órlaithí is passionate about the topic. Her contribution demonstrated her passion so clearly, and she led us to challenge ourselves in how we talk about mental health. Órlaithí and one of the other Members talked about how we often say things and use connotations and language that we do not generally even mean to be harmful, but that in itself is symptomatic of some of the issues that impact on people who have mental ill health and the stigma that they feel. The debate was excellent. We are all agreed that reducing the stigma around mental health and mental illness is absolutely crucial for improving access to care so that people feel comfortable to take that step and get the support that they need when they need it. We recognised very strongly today that stigma leads to discrimination and social isolation and a real reluctance to seek help or treatment. As others have said, that leads to further problems when a crisis develops. Stigmatised beliefs about mental illness can prevent individuals from getting treatment. As I said, that leads not just to their problems worsening but to the care that they need escalating. We talked earlier about the acute pressures on our hospitals. If we are able to get this right at the earliest possible stage, it can lead to a reduction in pressure elsewhere and better outcomes, which are key to all of this. Many Members talked about the historical connotations and how our parents and grandparents potentially talked about people with mental ill health. We have lots of examples. I know, even in generations of my family, about the stigma that surrounds someone in the family who has mental ill health, and I am talking about decades ago. Throughout our family, we were always very much aware of someone who, in times gone by, had probably been hidden away or institutionalised. In today's society, they may not need that form of treatment and might be able to get the right support in the community and have the opportunity to thrive, be part of the community and lead the life that they wish to lead. There are so many sad stories from our past, and some of those things are, to an extent, probably still happening. However, there has definitely been a real shift towards better understanding and a real willingness to try to reach out and help people where we can. The importance of raising awareness and talking has been critical to the conversation. I thank the Minister for sharing his personal experiences. I know, Minister, that you have talked about your wife on many occasions and how she has used her experiences to advocate for others. It is so important that people do that, and we have had service users here today who are advocating on behalf of all the many other people who are experiencing mental ill health so that we can make the changes that are needed. We have to move forward. We have talked a lot about raising awareness, and that includes education, but this is a real cross-cutting issue. Robbie Butler talked about the Prison Service and his experience with it. When we look at the experiences of young men in particular in the justice system, whether they are in custody or on remand, we see that issues can arise because of the stigma around mental health. If they are not getting the right support, that can lead to reoffending and other issues. We really have an opportunity here to try to reduce that stigma so that those people can get that support, whether it is in a facility such as a prison or other community facilities. That could be the catalyst for making the changes in their life in many other ways. When it comes to raising greater awareness, we also have the early intervention piece. We have a real opportunity to ensure that our schools and third-level colleges etc play their part as well. However, I think that our young people are very in tune with mental health, and that is a testament to the huge amount of work that has been going on for so many years to normalise those conversations. A culture of change is definitely happening at school age, because it is normal to have those conversations and to talk about your mental health and your feelings from a very early age. Some of the things that my children, who are of playschool age, say when they come home show me that change is really happening in that people are able to talk about their feelings. The fact that that is being done in an age-appropriate way that helps children means that it is something that they can carry through. Work is happening, and things such as the Healthy Happy Minds funding and all those initiatives can also play a huge part. The debate has crystallised the Assembly's willingness to work together not only to dispel the myths around mental illness but to reduce stigma and support people in seeking help and in talking about the issues. We talked about the various elements in all our lives that can trigger mental ill health and how the things that we take for granted will not have that impact. We talked about antenatal and postnatal health and the menopause. We also talked about the impact on males. A lot of the debate has focused on the huge role of the community and voluntary sector in addressing mental illness and suicide prevention. The Well, which is in the Ballymartin/Kilkeel area, is one example of how a community came together following a number of incidents of suicide to form an organisation that is run completely by fundraising but that, I have no doubt, has saved many lives. That was born out of a number of suicides of young males in that area, and the community knew that it had to do something.

I thank the Member for his intervention, and I agree absolutely. That goes back to my original point about people who have been arrested or are in custody or on remand. A lot of the reasons behind what is happening are to do with a lack of understanding about what people may be dealing with when it comes to mental health. If those people could get the right support at the right time, things could change for them.

Absolutely, and I thank the Minister for his intervention. The Health and Justice Committees had a joint briefing on that important policy. However, we need to ensure that the resources are in place for that to be delivered properly. Concerns have been raised about who will do that, and that will be a job of work. I think that we are all in agreement that this is an issue that must be addressed. It is important to tackle the chronic issues that many people are facing. As some Members said, we are in a post-conflict society, which, I believe, has led to the high number of cases of mental ill health that we see. That is why there is a greater need for us to tackle that head-on and ensure that we are doing everything that we can. There is a responsibility on us all. I understand the budgetary pressures that the Minister outlined. Funding the mental health strategy is critical, and I know that the Minister, as a champion of mental health, will do all that he can to ensure that we achieve what is needed. I hope that we can continue to work together across the Assembly, the Department of Health and all Departments to really tackle this issue, reduce the stigma and improve the lives of people across the North.

1,313 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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