John Culatto
THE head of UK national mental health charity will be visiting Gibraltar schools on Monday and Tuesday to talk about children’s addictions to their phones.
Louisa Rose, CEO of Beyond, will give a chat on social media dependence on Monday evening, with other sessions going on throughout the two days for children of all ages.
Youth Board member Monica Leung will also be on the Rock to take part in the ‘Now and Beyond Gibraltar Mental Health and Wellbeing Festival’ on November 21-22.
Local mental health helpline GibSams organised the Beyond visit with the education department.
Children from all schools will benefit from the chats that make up the festival, aimed at giving children positive well-being through a range of activities.
Rose’s experience for ten years as social media consultant will help her give the chat, which led her to confront the tech industry on the problems of phone addiction.
Both speakers have overcome their own issues, which include depression, anxiety, Tourette’s and OCD conditions.
“Every child should feel supported and empowered, whatever the challenges they face,” Leung said.
“I’m here to challenge the stigma of mental health, particularly within minority communities.
“I also hope to start more conversations about the impact of racism and discrimination on young people’s mental health.”
Beyond runs its own UK mental health festival, also called ‘Now and Beyond’ that reaches over a million children every February.
It runs the only searchable online directory of mental health and wellbeing experts in the UK.
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