When it comes to mental health, inequality and hope for the future, we need new voices, new visions, and new leaders. Senator Lynn Ruane and Joe Caslin are two such emerging leaders – people who are championing change in different ways and blazing a trail in the process.
In her early thirties and from Tallaght in Dublin, Lynn is a campaigner for drug reform and other social justice issues, as well as being a powerful voice for many of those unrepresented in our political system. An early school-leaver and single mother of two, she got away from a life of drugs and went on to help set up addiction programs, before becoming a mature student, a student union leader and – more recently – entering the world of politics as an independent Senator. Now in her early thirties, Lynn is a passionate force for change.
Also in his early thirties, Roscommon-born Joe Caslin is a street artist and school teacher who lives in Tullamore. He made international news with the Claddagh Embrace, a giant street artwork that featured two men embracing, which he launched during Ireland’s 2015 marriage equality referendum. Joe is a tireless educator – he goes above and beyond for his students, and the loss of several of his students to suicide motivated him to create works for a project he produced called Our Nation’s Sons. His latest project, The Volunteers, uses large-scale, provocative street art to draw attention to addiction and mental health, and issues affecting asylum-seekers in the direct provision system.
I interviewed Lynn and Joe for my Love and Courage podcast at the Body & Soul music and arts festival in front of a live audience. They shared their fascinating life stories and insights into why they do what they do. You can read some extracts from the interview beneath the embedded Soundcloud link below. Alternatively download the one hour interview through the podcast App on your iPhone, iPad or through iTunes, or through a Podcast App such as Podcast Addict on other smartphones. I hope you enjoy.
Lynn Ruane quotes
On drugs and addiction
“I think we don’t often talk about addiction in the way that it should be talked about. So, I mean, if you look at the media and the narrative they send out. I mean, “zombie” and “junkie” are words that are used so much. You can’t call anyone else by other names that are derogatory – but you can still call a person who uses drugs a zombie. A zombie is non-human, has no conscience, is on auto-pilot. And it’s OK for newspapers to not get called out on that. So, any opportunity I’d have to try and start changing the narrative around drug use, so that people understand drug use, and understand the social context of it, as well.”
“Drug use knows no postcodes – but when you come from an area like mine, you see that same type of drug use is just endemic in working- class areas..”
“…we need to look at addiction, and look at people, and know that they each come with their own story. And get to know that story, and understand that story. And it’s only when we understand that person as an individual can we begin to, then, offer them the support that they might need, then, to flourish and to grow.”
“a lot of people that have experienced – especially institutional – abuse have ended up on our streets, in our hostels, and in our addiction services. So, there definitely is a connection between those two.”
“And the Harm Reduction is the key piece – and it’s about keeping people out of prisons for drug use. I mean, we spend millions, and millions, and millions, every year, putting people in prison for possession. And it’s absolutely pointless. And in my research so far, I’ve found about 11 million a year savings in the justice system – so, that’s the likes of legal aid and the court system. And I mean, if you took that amount of money – locking mostly working-class young men up, because it does affect the working classes more – and you took that money, and invested it at an early stage of all those young men’s lives…”
Joe Caslin quotes
Youth mental health crisis
“I’d been teaching for eight years, and through the course of those eight years, I’d lost eight kids to suicide. And when you lose eight of your kids out of the classroom, that kind of breaks you.
“And some kids need to be celebrated because they come in the door. Yes, it’s tough – and it feels like it’s getting tougher every year. But then, it’s kind of tough for us, the role of a teacher. Like, I lost, as I said, eight kids – and I was never once asked: “Am I OK?” And that’s a tough one, too.”
“Schools are afraid to talk about it, because they think that it’s going to escalate the issue. Those that are in the space to make policy are petrified, as well, because you’re talking about lives. And that kind of fear is making everything just stop. And as things stop, there’s kids that are just completely… They’re no longer here. They’re making decisions to end their lives – and it’s inaction that’s leading to the crisis that we’re in. And it’s an absolute crisis.”
Direct provision
“…everyone is fu@king petrified of direct provision. It’s a huge issue that needs to be talked about – we have a cohort of beautiful people that are living in this country that are being absolutely diminished. And it’s disgraceful, what’s taking place
Empathy
“…just bring a little bit more empathy into your lives, every day, if you can. It’s a really small… Like, if you just change your head up, a small bit, and just look and see how you can hand that over. How we can give love back a little bit more. And it’s just making time. My thing is, I’m an artist, and I can kind of create a space where people can look at things differently. Do what you can to make people look at things differently.”
Ruairí McKiernan’s new Love and Courage podcast features in-depth interviews with thinkers, innovators and activists including Professor Ivor Browne, Senator Frances Black, Sr Stan, Christy Moore and others. You can download it for free on iTunes or any Podcast smartphone App or listen via Soundcloud. Find out more at loveandcourage.org
Support Our Campaign
We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
