Hummingbird Causeway enjoys R&A support ahead of The Open’s return

A NEW North Coast mental health charity, Hummingbird Causeway, has been launched at Stormont at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, with details of its first campaign ‘Open Your Mind.’
The charitable arm of the Portstewart based Hummingbird Project will be led by a team of mental health experts, all of whom have lived experience of mental ill themselves and use this unique combination to help others.
With the support of The R&A, its inaugural outing will be at July’s 153rd Open being staged at Royal Portrush where its services will be available to some 280,000 golf fans who will attend during the week of the Championship.
The run up to the prestigious event also provides the charity with a platform to launch #OpenYourMind, its first major community fund and awareness raising campaign.
Coinciding with the start of Mental Health Awareness Week (May 12-18), political representatives including Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, heard more about Hummingbird Causeway granted charitable status in April.
Its work will extend the reach, value and impact of what has been successfully achieved by The Hummingbird Project over the last ten years. Through new community-based fund and awareness raising opportunities, it will provide even more vital mental health support to individuals and communities in the Causeway Coast and Glens area.
Hummingbird Causeway Chair, Dr Jimmy McAleese said: “Mental ill-health costs the economy in the Causeway Coast and Glens Council Area £255m per year according to recently published statistics from the London School of Economics and the Mental Health Foundation.
“Living in rural areas can bring unique challenges such as social isolation and economic deprivation which contribute to stress, anxiety and depression with detrimental effect on mental health and wellbeing.
“Our charitable status gives us new income generating capacity to support locally tailored, innovative and collaborative mental fitness projects.
“We’ll also be launching a persuasive case for more investment into mental health services in areas outside NI’s major towns and cities and will bring together and give voice to other wellness service providers in the North Coast area making us more impactful together than apart.”
Leigh Carey, CEO and founder of the Hummingbird Project said: “We have invested over £1.5 million in local mental health projects over the last ten years and have won numerous awards for innovation and impact in modern mental health services.
“The launch of Hummingbird Causeway is a giant leap in our development. It will allow us to increase our service provision to support even more people at their point of need using our unique therapeutic blend combining professional expertise with lived experience of mental ill health. We are grateful to The R&A for the opportunity to be present in Portrush at this year’s Open.”
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “We want fans to have a safe, enjoyable, and memorable experience of attending The Open and so have a range of services and facilities onsite to ensure that the venue is both accessible and caters for a range of different needs.
“Hummingbird provides important mental health services to individuals and communities in Northern Ireland and we are grateful its staff will be at Royal Portrush to offer advice and support to fans.”
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I am truly impressed hearing about the valuable work of Hummingbird, which is fitting considering this is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week.
“I am encouraged to hear the launch of the new charity will extend the reach, value and impact of what has been achieved by Hummingbird over the last ten years. This will help provide even more vital mental health support to individuals and communities in the Causeway Coast and Glens area.”
Building resilience, equipping people with the skills and tools to take charge of their own mental health is key to all Hummingbird activities. To showcase the importance of this and to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, a specially commissioned film ‘Resilience’ was shown at the event.
The contemporary dance, performed by 18-year-old Lily Pyne, was filmed on Portstewart Strand and is a stunning portrayal of what it is like to face and adapt to an unexpected life crisis, process emotions and build the skills and mental toughness required to recover and walk towards a new and potentially brighter life.
The #OpenYourMind campaign is to include a ‘mental fitness through sport’ art and multi-media project involving Primary and Special Schools in the Causeway Coast and Glens area whose art will feature in an exhibit in the Hummingbird tent at The Open.
At the event, Hummingbird Causeway will share a space with Cancer Focus NI (CFNI) who will be offering sunscreen to all visitors as part of their education programme about the dangers of UV radiation exposure.