Two students hope to ‘pave a new path’ with mental health service
The website, Man-talk.ie, was the brainchild of Jon Harrison
TWO YOUNG Limerick men have been given the “keys to the castle” of a digital project that aims to offer mental health support to men.
The website, Man-talk.ie, was the brainchild of Jon Harrison, a digital marketing director from Raheen, who first thought of the concept during Covid.
“The basic premise is the idea of an unsent letter (or in this case, an email), where someone can vent their issues. The email is then deleted and someone can feel like they got stuff off their chest. They then get back an email with resources to reach out to for support with their mental health,” he added.
Mr Harrison has recently decided to change the direction of the project.
“I've partnered with two local school kids whom I coach at the local soccer club, Seth Odiase, 16 , and David Hackett who just turned 18. These two young men wanted to learn about digital marketing, so I've decided to give them the whole project and become a mentor,” he added.
Once the project starts to generate an income, Mr Harrison said that 20% to 25% of the profits will go to local charities, such as Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention and Limerick Suicide Watch.
The rest, he says, will go to Mr Odiase and Mr Hackett to use on college funds.
Mr Odiase sees a passion for working on ManTalk.ie due to his own upbringing, having watched his peers “go down the wrong path.”
“Now growing up, I know I have the power to change what the younger generation sees in us. I’ve looked around the environment I grew up in and realised I wanted to be different from that, I wanted to pave a new path that people thought would be impossible to take,” he added.
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Mr Hackett said he had always felt an “internal motivation” to be different to his environment, and after pursuing different business ventures, Jon Harrison was the “missing piece to the puzzle.”
“I take pride in working on the project as I have a personal resonation with overcoming struggle and simultaneously want to create something that will make Jon proud,” he said.
“It's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to not have the resources to heal your intrinsic problems and mental conflicts. I want to be successful in business. I want to be able to provide for the people who care for me,” he added.