'Kindness' call over 'shocking' Kessock Bridge comments as mental wellbeing charity HUG seeks to raise awareness of impact on vulnerable people
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A CALL to kindness towards people who are struggling with their mental health has been made amidst insensitive comments following distressing incidents on an iconic Ross-shire bridge.
HUG (Action for Mental Health), an advocacy project managed by charity Spirit Advocacy, has reached out to the public with a post raising awareness of the levels of distress caused by several recent closures of the Kessock Bridge.
"Kindness goes a long way, whoever the person is and whatever the circumstances, we need to be kind about those people. It's important to just be mindful of the impact of our words on people."
"Every time the bridge is shut it is a worry that someone is struggling and unable to see an alternative," it stated, calling out some "shocking and unkind" comments during such emergencies and highlighting help available.
Sue Lyons, manager at Spirit Advocacy and author of the post, said: "It is incredibly distressing for people to not only see the bridge shut so many times in such a short space of time but also seeing the responses on social media where people are very judgmental and mean.
"That can be very distressing, so we want to reach out to members and the wider community to make sure they have access to support for themselves if they are struggling."
Talking about closures of the key A9 transport link that connects Ross-shire with Inverness and all points south, she said: "I think that it distresses people. We take calls from our members who are distressed and we are also concerned that nothing seems to be happening very much.
"There are agencies available to help people in moments of despair or distress. If you have friends of relatives, support them, speak to professionals, and trying to get involved in changing things sometimes can help, so you can get in touch with us.
"Kindness goes a long way, whoever the person is and whatever the circumstances, we need to be kind about those people. It's important to just be mindful of the impact of our words on people."
HUG has called for many years for better crisis support and says it's important we support each other and ask for help from the organisations that are designed to do that.
This Saturday – which also marks World Suicide Prevention Day – the charity will host a public meeting aimed at exploring possible ways to demand action from politicians as well as ideas for community response in light of the cost-of-living crisis.
Ms Lyons said: "Our members asked that we hold an open meeting to discuss how can we put pressure on our governments and the elected representatives to ensure that they are understanding the impact of that – how we can help each other to cope with energy costs being so high and food costs rising, and what actions we can take as communities and individuals to lobby for more support for people who need it.
"In 2019, we did some research and found that people in rural poverty have the lowest levels of mental wellbeing, and we already have members who can’t afford their bills, and it’s only September. We have people who are worried and distressed about how they will manage through the winter.
"It’s about people who are living with mental illness, long-term conditions and in poverty, and what matters to them. We need to hear what they have to say and talk about what actions we would like to see as a community."
The public meeting will be held from 11am-1pm at The Bught Stop in Torvean Avenue, Inverness with more information at spiritadvocacy.org.uk and the HUG (Action for Mental Health) Facebook page.
Help is at hand
If you need help or know someone who is struggling, you can get in touch with the organisations below:
Samaritans: 116 123 (calls are free and don't show on a phone bill)
Breathing Space: 0800 83 85 87
MikeysLine: 07786 207755 (Sunday to Thursday 6pm-10pm, Friday and Saturday 7pm-7am)
James Support group: 07563 572 471.
