This year Social Prescribing Day is on Thursday, 9th March.

Social prescribing is a way of actively connecting people to activities, groups and services that can improve their health and wellbeing.

For example, people may visit their GP because they may be feeling stressed about their work, money, or because they are lonely and isolated. But these problems cannot be fixed by medicine, or doctors, alone.

Social prescribing links people to a range of activities and services, based on their situation and preferences.

This could include, for example, volunteering, arts activities, gardening, befriending, advice on debt or finances, and a range of sports.

On Social Prescribing Day a wide range of individuals and organisations will be sharing resources and hosting events in celebration of social prescribing and in recognition of link workers, local community groups and regional and national organisations that support people’s health and wellbeing.

The overall aim is to get more people talking about social prescribing to increase awareness, access and engagement across Ireland as well as an appreciation for social prescribing’s amazing impact for health and wellbeing.

If your organisation is involved in promoting social prescribing there are a number of ways that you can get involved:

1. Host an event in your local community to promote social prescribing and the service that you and your partners provide
2. Leading up to and on the day, share what you are doing on Social Prescribing Day with the team at the All-Ireland Social Prescribing Network and we’ll be sure to share your activity on our Twitter channel @ireland_social #SocialPrescribingDay
3. Download and share the National Academy of Social Prescribing’s Toolkit for info, tips, and resources to help make some noise about Social Prescribing Day. Social Prescribing Day Toolkit (1).pdf – Google Drive
4. Customise your social media channels with #SocialPrescribingDay collateral and branding. You can download logos, banners and a range of other social media resources.
5. Write to your local elected reps and tell them about your service so they know about the great work that you, your team and your partners are doing.

For more information visit the All Ireland Social Prescribing Network website.

See our directory of mental health supports and services in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon HERE.