Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya (center) with Louie Raner (left), convenor of Youth for Mental Health-Bacolod, and Charisse Erinn Flores, chairperson of Akbayan Youth, signed the joint declaration on raising mental health awareness during an event for #MHeToo campaign in Bacolod City on Saturday. (Photo from Congressman Greg Gasataya Facebook page)
BACOLOD CITY -- The Youth for Mental Health Inc. (Y4MH)-Bacolod is pushing for the inclusion of the mental health agenda in the platforms of candidates running in the May 13 elections.
“Only days away from the start of the campaign period for local positions, we appeal to candidates to make mental health an agenda in their platforms,” the group said in a press statement.
As part of their advocacy, Y4MH-Bacolod led by convenor Louie Raner and Akbayan Youth chairperson Charisse Erinn Flores signed a joint declaration on raising mental health awareness with the Office of Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya during an event for the #MHeToo campaign held at Nonna’s Kitchen here on Saturday.
“We believe that the time has come to raise awareness on the urgent issue of mental health, to work together in putting the issue of mental health as a priority, and to address the issue on mental health especially among the youth,” the joint declaration stated.
It cited the Department of Health figures showing that 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depressive disorders with suicide rates of 2.5 for males and 1.7 for females per 100,000.
The Y4MH-Bacolod noted that in this city, “three years ago on this month, a foreigner leapt to his death from the third floor of a mall, and this was followed by another incident in February 2017, and yet another in December last year.”
Moreover, the joint declaration stated that “based on the general reactions from the public, stories of suicides are outright dismissed, or worse, sensationalized sometimes by the media or the netizens themselves, with very little regard for lives and families of those affected.”
Given these realities, the three partner-groups vowed to initiate campaigns to raise awareness among youth and students on mental health and welcome and encourage proactive initiatives to provide better health care for people with mental health issues.
They will also actively be involved in measures to remove the stigma of mental health in both mainstream and social media, and generate awareness on the causes of suicide, depression, and other mental health issues.
“We strongly feel that there is a need to merge our efforts to create a better world for the youth, as mental health is as important as physical health and fitness,” the joint declaration added.
For his part, Gasataya, author of House Bill 6768 that seeks to improve mental health services in colleges and universities, said he feels honored to work with the two groups in the crafting of policies to improve mental health awareness, advocacy, and services.
“House Bill 6768 is my commitment translated to legislative action. The problem of mental health is surmountable but we must come together as a nation, as a people to think of solutions,” the lawmaker added.(PNA)
