A Lanarkshire school pupil has been hailed for her speech on mental health being read in Scottish Parliament.
Eleyza Mohammed wrote a compelling piece on mental health stigma in the workplace and was invited to Holyrood to see it delivered by Central Scotland MSP Graham Simpson.
The Higher Politics student from Motherwell touched on a number of important issues within the debate including See Me Scotland’s ‘See Me in Work’ campaign and the need for a mental health strategy which addresses societal stigmas.
Following the debate, Eleyza got the opportunity to meet other MSPs who had taken part in the debate, including the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care Kevin Stewart.
Members from across the chamber were united in admiration for Eleyza and took the opportunity to wish her well for the future.
Lanarkshire MSP Mr Simpson, who’d posed a similar challenge to politics students at Our Lady’s High a few years ago, was delighted to learn that there was an appetite amongst students to do this again following a recent visit to the school.
On this occasion Eleyza, who studies at Taylor High but joins Our Lady’s Higher Politics class virtually, volunteered to write the speech on her own.
She was applauded for her efforts on the day by MSPs, and the local pupil says she has been inspired to use her voice for good again in the future.
Elyeza said: “Visiting Parliament and meeting Graham was an intriguing experience, which has taught me to use my voice for the good and I will continue to do right by the people.
“I hope my speech reached the right audience. Everyone should be able to speak freely about their problems and something should be done to help them.
“I would like the thank everyone who helped me to gain this opportunity”.
Central Scotland MSP, Graham Simpson added: “I was delighted to welcome Eleyza to Parliament this week so she could see first-hand her speech being delivered to the chamber.
“She did an amazing job researching and constructing this and her passion for the topic and politics in general really shone through when we met”.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the Higher Politics class at Our Lady’s High who I’m always delighted to visit and discuss some tricky subjects with.
“I hope Eleyza’s speech will inspire more pupils to engage with their MSPs and I look forward to running a similar scheme to this in the new year”.
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