The founder of an Inverness-based mental health charity has died after a battle with a long-term illness.
Ron Williamson, founder of Mikeysline, died on Thursday, December 14.
Founded in 2015, Mikeysline was started to combat mental health issues and high suicide rates in the Highlands. Ron Williamson started the charity after the death of his nephew, Michael Williamson.
He ran the charity until 2019, which marked its eighth year of operation this month.
In a Facebook post, a spokesperson for Mikeysline wrote: “It’s with great sadness to all of us at Mikeysline that we confirm that our founder, Ron Williamson, passed away peacefully yesterday following a long illness.
“Although we knew that this was coming, Ron somehow appeared invincible to many of us. He put up such a great fight against his inoperable illness, with the strength and determination that launched Mikeysline 8 year ago.
“Our thoughts are with Ron’s family, friends, people who met Ron and supported Mikeysline in those early days and since and to our staff and volunteers who were there at the beginning with Ron and kept in touch over the years.”
“The most amazing legacy”: Tributes to Mikeysline founder pour in
Many people took to social media to pay tribute to Ron Williamson.
Catherine Gilchrist wrote: “So sad to be reading this, you brought a sense that life was worth something and helped so many improve there lives with your enthusiasm and passion. You impacted on so many lives and have left the most amazing legacy for the Highlands. Thank you.”
Craig Dunain echoed those sentiments.
He wrote: “Very sad news. I met Ron in the early days of setting up the charity and his enthusiasm and conviction it would happen was obvious to anyone who met him. As l always say to people, one measure of a man is how people regard and speak about them.
“We’d be hard pushed to find anyone with anything negative to say regarding Ron. A shining example for others to learn from and a brilliant legacy left behind.”
Wide reaching legacy
Since opening in 2015, Mikeysline has grown into an important support service in the Highlands.
The charity provides face-to-face mental health support in “hives” in Nairn, Inverness, Tain and Allness.
After the pandemic, demand for its services grew by 80%, compounded by the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills.
In a video posted to the Mikeysline YouTube page, Ron Williamson said he was most proud of helping start the conversation around mental health.
He said: “People are talking to other people about their own mental health, and asking questions about their friend’s mental health. Whereas, it was not necessarily a taboo subject before Mikeysline was started, but it wasn’t discussed.”
Moving forward, he said it’s important to start having conversation about mental health at a younger age. This will help youths develop coming mechanisms.
He said: “You don’t have to come to a full stop just because things are bad today, or bad tomorrow or bad at home. You can work with any feeling that you get and you can find a way to get around it.”
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