A West Belfast boxer has thrown his weight behind a new initiative which hopes to raise over £20,000 for mental health charities in 2020.
Joe Fitzpatrick has joined up with his brother Gerry and friends Conor McCabe and Eibhlin Sweeney to launch the Fighting Mental Health campaign.
They hope to raise the £20k figure through a series of fundraising events, and also increase awareness of mental health.
"We have a couple of events planned already," explained Joe.
"We have lost friends to suicide and we all know people who are suffering or have suffered with their mental health.
"People are aware of organisations out there, but I don't think everyone knows what services are available.
"My brother Gerry has struggled with his mental health in the past, so this is something very important to us.
"So we came together and decided to launch this Fighting Mental Health initiative, and hopefully we can raise awareness and a lot of money."
The group has organised a boxing night for May 8, and a charity dinner will be held on June 17 in the Beechlawn Hotel in Dunmurry.
"We will put on a number of fights at the boxing show and it should be a bit of craic," Joe added.
"The tickets are £10 for that event so hopefully people can get along.
"The formal dinner will include some talks on mental health. We are inviting a number of speakers to come along and pass on their knowledge and advice.
"Just to highlight to people that there is help out there. Mental health affects everyone, not just young people.
"So anyone who is struggling, we want them to know there is help and support out there.
"We also hope to hold a charity cycle from Belfast to Scotland. We are linking up with some Scottish friends and the cycle will be a two-way challenge."
Anyone looking more information should check out the Fighting Mental Health Facebook Page.
