UCC Suicide Awareness and Mental Health (SÁMH)

Irfan Khan

SÁMH had a fab year - probably one of our best yet! Our proudest achievements include our Stress Management Workshop for International Students collaborating with the UCC International Society Office, sea swims collaborations with UCC Surf Club, participating with UCC Scribble Society and the UCC Student Recruitment Office for open day, collaborating with Breaking the Silence on organizing a safeTALK seminar for suicide awareness and prevention, and hosting an epic charity talent concert with UCC Simon Society and UCC Musical Theatre Society.

We were most proud that we were able to donate over €1000 across several mental health organizations in Ireland such as Jigsaw and Helplink Although we didn't win "Best Mental Health Promoting Event" or "Best Social Media Presence," we were runner up for both, which has never happened in SÁMH - we feel to us, that is a win :)

What I loved most about being in SÁMH was the fact that we were successfully spreading mental health awareness through fun and engaging activities that kept participants happy while at the same time, getting participants to think more about how they can not only improve the mental health of others, but also their own mental wellbeing. With mental illness on the rise in the world, especially due to the aftermath of COVID-19 and the global economic situation, we were proud as a society to at least help make folks feel a little better through our events promoting positive mental health well-being, which thankfully were in person this year!

I'd like to see the society grow and contribute to positive campus well-being, as well as continued collaboration and donations towards mental health communities, like Jigsaw or Helplink. We would also like to collaborate more with other societies which we did not get a chance to. Overall, we are proud to have contributed to positive mental health and well-being around camp ward to seeing ÁMH :D