Charity campaign aims to improve mental health support
BBCA campaign has been launched by mental health charities and a search and rescue organisation, aimed at encouraging people to have conversations before getting to a point of crisis.
The 'We See You' campaign is a collaboration between Channel Islands Air Search (CIAS), Guernsey Mind and Mind Jersey.
CIAS's involvement stems from it revealing 42% of call outs are to help find, and rescue missing persons, many of whom will be facing mental health challenges.
Nick Griffin, pilot for CIAS, said: "We didn't quite appreciate what a high percentage those cases were and are typically related to mental health problems."
Jo Cottell, chief executive of Guernsey Mind said: "It's trying to break down that stigma to encourage people to speak when they need to, but we need to try and help people earlier on so they don't get to that stage.
"It's about us all working together."
Tim Rowe has faced serious mental health challenges and runs his own initiative Wild Wolf Wellbeing.
He believes the collaborative campaign is a positive move: "Providing a service that can scan the island so quickly is essential right now in finding people who are in that crisis point."
He added: "I reached a point in my life where I didn't know what the next step was, I didn't know a way out or I didn't know anyone to call.
"It was totally unexpected, my life was good, but then all of a sudden everything was attacking me.
For him, writing poems proved to be a valuable outlet.
He said: "I just needed to get it out of my system every word everything that I had never said had to get out."
Another islander who has been trying to help with mental health since he lost his brother 10 years ago, is Lee Corbet .
He said: "It was very difficult at the time and it didn't feel very nice but it drove me forwards to do more to try and help other people."
Regarding the percentage of CIAS call outs that are responding to mental health crises, he said: "It's not a good thing, the more times CIAS are called the more problems it means we've got.
"I understand they're trying to address the mental health services and Guernsey Mind are amazing."
- If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line
