Teenage mental health champion to speak at Erin Arts Centre tonight

An 18-year-old mental health campaigner will give a talk about his experiences at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin this evening, Thursday 15 October, at 19:30.

Jessie Quirk’s talk, A Mind That Wanders: Mental Health, Animals & My Life, coincides with his first art exhibition at the centre, Isle of Man Today reported. Tickets cost £5 through TicketSource.

According to the paper, Jessie is neurodivergent and spent six months in hospital on the island and in Sheffield last year with serious mental health difficulties.

His previous talk at the centre, in March, sold out. On that occasion he described how caring for his animals helps him keep his emotions in check, and the audience got to meet some of them. This evening’s event will not feature any animals.

“I want to use my experiences to help others and let them know they are not alone,” he told Isle of Man Today, adding that the Government needs to invest more in meeting the island’s growing mental health needs.

His free exhibition, A Mind That Wanders: Shadows, Paranoia & Creepy Crawlies, includes work from his art GCSE and pieces made during and after his hospital stay. It runs until Saturday 21 November, open 10:00 to 16:30 from Tuesday to Friday and during shows and events. Jessie will be at the exhibition to meet visitors from 12:00 to 16:00 on Saturday 24 October.