A Penparcau man has called on authorities to make mental health education compulsory, winning the backing of Ceredigion MP Ben Lake.

Nathan Jackson, 20, lost a close relative to suicide in 2018 and said he wants to raise awareness about the lack of support and education around mental health.

As part of his campaign, Nathan launched a petition calling for mandatory education about mental health, as well as providing advice and information, saying he hoped it might spare other people from the loss his family suffered.

Former Penglais School pupil Nathan, now a sports management student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, is hoping his petition could see action taken by the Department for Education in Wales.

He said: “Having lost a very close relative to suicide in August 2018, I decided to try and set up a campaign that will hopefully lead to an increased provision of mental health tuition across all sectors of education.

“My aim is to have at least a few thousand signatures on my petition to get people talking about the lack of support and education there is at the moment.

“Currently, I don’t feel that the Department for Education is taking the mental health crisis as seriously as it should be, despite the amount of effort that has been put in by way of awareness.

“I feel there needs to be a provision of mandatory sessions that involve talking about the dangers of mental illness, as well as the potential causes and what can potentially be done to limit them."

Nathan’s petition is available here.

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