The Story Of Mikeysline
Mikeysline was founded in 2015 following the tragic deaths of good friends, Martin Shaw and Michael Williamson within 48 hours of each other.
This heartbreaking loss of life only added to the growing number of suicides in the Highland area. Speaking to Martin and Michael’s peers at their wake, Ron Williamson, Mikey’s uncle, heard that young people felt that they had nowhere to go when they were at a loss when struggling with mental health issues.
So Ron, along with other key individuals, founded Mikeysline with the aim of changing this so that others might receive the help and support that Mikey needed. An aim that struck an immediate chord at the hearts of many.
Support for Mikeysline quickly gathered momentum and a grassroots charity was formed. A candlelit parade was an early indication of the level of support from those in the Highlands for everything that Mikeysline was being set up to achieve, but most of all to help prevent the tragic loss of further lives due to the lack of accessible support when it was most needed.
People can struggle daily with a multitude of mental health and emotional issues, which impact their life and health, yet only a fraction of people feel able to talk about it. At Mikeysline, our suicide prevention and mental health awareness work is at the core of what we do to break down the stigma associated with seeking support for emotional distress. That it is ok not to be ok and that no one should suffer in silence.
Can you help us raise awareness, drive change, and challenge stigma around mental health and suicide prevention?
We all have mental health.
And we all have experiences of mental health challenges – either our own, or those of the people we’re close to. Even though mental health difficulties can affect everyone, we know that stigma and fear of judgment can still stop people reaching out for help when they need it.
We want that to change.
Mikeysline is always here to help when life gets difficult, but there’s a part for each and every one of us to play in changing how we think and talk about mental health in our communities and tackling stigma.
We want everyone across the north of Scotland to hear and understand the message that it’s ok not to be ok.