Hafnarfjörður municipality supports Hugrúnu

The health town of Hafnarfjörður this week awarded a grant of 300,000 króna to the Mental Health Education Association, Hugrún.  In January, educators from Hugrún visited all Year 9 pupils in Hafnarfjörður's state schools with the aim of educating our young people about mental health, mental illness and available resources, as well as raising public awareness of these important issues. 

Education on mental health, mental illness and available resources

^{Here, an instructor from Hugrún receives a grant from Fanney D. Halldórsdóttir, Director of Education and Leisure Services for the City of Hafnarfjörður, and Geir Bjarnason, Sports and Leisure Officer.}

The Mental Health Education Society Hugrún was founded in the spring of 2016 by students in psychology, medicine and nursing at the University of Iceland. To date, the association's focus has been on education for secondary school pupils, as well as open education evenings and presentations for both the general public and parents. In collaboration with the City of Hafnarfjörður, the mental health education society took a new step and extended its education to primary school pupils, who are often more receptive and open to the subject and to discussing mental health openly. 

The City of Hafnarfjörður takes its preventative role seriously and, for some time now, has been offering peer education within Hafnarfjörður's primary schools. This approach has been well received by pupils, their parents and school staff. The discussion is often more open and different, and is therefore considered a good addition to the education and encouragement that takes place in other ways.

^{Here is Kristín Fjóla Reynisdóttir, one of a group of tutors at Hugrún, who were chatting with pupils in the 9th grades of Hafnarfjörður's primary schools.}