Aware

Campaign from Swords Express in support of Aware urges people to ‘Express Yourself’ for positive mental health

Irish actors John Connors and Joe Rooney have marked World Mental Health Day announcing the new campaign ‘Express Yourself’ from Swords Express, a division of Eirebus, in support of mental health organisation Aware. The new campaign urges people to express themselves, with a focus on positive mental health, raising awareness and funds for mental health services.

To celebrate the campaign, Swords Express also launched the Aware bus with 20% of fares collected across all services on Mental Health Day donated to the charity.

Aware is the national organisation providing support, education and information to individuals, families and communities impacted by depression, bipolar disorder and mood related conditions. More than 450,000 people in Ireland experience depression (1 in 10) at any one time but many hide their condition and never get help.

As part of the initiative supporting Aware, Swords Express will organise fundraising events with the theme of creative expression to encourage positive mental health and a campaign hashtag of #ExpressYourself. Passengers on the Swords Express may look forward to free pop up events during the year including pop up yoga, art/craft events, cookery and comedy.

Aware’s message is one of hope: recovery is possible. Early intervention, as well as ongoing support, are very important.

Dominic Layden, CEO, Aware, commented: “While we continue to support people with depression and bipolar disorder, we have evolved over the years to recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health in order to reduce the prevalence of mental illness. We now offer a range of psychoeducational programmes, designed to empower adults and young people with the tools and skills to build resilience and cope with the stresses of modern life. We would like to thank Eirebus for acknowledging the significance of promoting positive mental health and for choosing to support the work of Aware with their #ExpressYourself initiative. We are looking forward to seeing the ‘Aware’ bus on the streets of Dublin in the coming weeks!”

Managing Director of Eirebus, Sinéad Kavanagh, said: “We are very proud to announce our inaugural partnership with Aware on World Mental Health Day. It is fantastic to have the support of comedian/actor Joe Rooney and actor John Connors for this positive mental health initiative.”

She continued: “Many Swords Express passengers use the service to commute to work every day and we recognise the stress of the daily grind. Swords Express would like to do its bit to help alleviate some of that stress and promote positive mental health through a range of events for passengers focusing on creative expression.”

For more information on Aware, visit www.aware.ie.

To donate to Aware, visit: www.aware.ie/donate/