West Lothian College Tackles Mental Health Stigma

That the Parliament commends staff and students at West Lothian College for their collaborative, innovative and compassionate approaches to supporting student mental health and wellbeing; congratulates the college’s student association, the lecturer, Marion Darling, and Preparation for Health and Social Care students on organising a very successful mental health and wellbeing refreshers event at which over 1,200 students took part in a wide range of activities; acknowledges the contribution of beauty students who provided free manicures to aid wellbeing, and sports students who carried out health checks and kickboxing lessons as a way of managing stress; applauds Preparation for Health and Social Care and Preparation for Construction students who worked together on an anti-stigma campaign by creating a giant wooden story book located in the middle of the campus, which contains stories from students and staff about their experiences of dealing with poor mental health, and recognises the wide range of local organisations and charities that supported the event, including Donna Harvie-Paterson from the mental health charity, Neil’s Hugs.