AN interactive art installation which hopes to break the stigma around mental health has been launched in Wallasey.

The Open Door Centre on Seaview Road is home to the ‘Before I Leave’ wall – a chalkboard for people who use the centre to write what they would like to achieve before they ‘leave’.

Working hand-in-hand with those who choose to use their services to make sure they overcome their mental health issues, the Open Door Centre sees itself as a small, laid back charity that offers many different forms of therapy to young people.

The new project takes its inspiration from artist Candy Chang and her ‘Before I Die’ wall in her community in New Orleans not long after hurricane Katrina with the aim of bringing a sense of community back together by inviting people to write their goals in public.

With support of the Merseyside Arts Foundation creators LPD Art are looking to take this idea of a chalkboard wall to new heights and tour it around Merseyside to spread the word and break the stigma surrounding mental health.

LPD Art founder Liam Duffy said: “So far it has been a great success and those who work and use the services at The Open Door Centre have fallen in love with the idea.

“We will be targeting high footfall areas and festivals simply to make people aware of the importance of mental health in a way that anyone and everyone can participate in.

“I have personally experienced how debilitating forms of mental health can be, especially if the symptoms and effects are not taken seriously. In 2015 my father suffered a life-threatening stroke, seemingly out of nowhere which turned my family’s life into a tail spin and effected all of our mental health, whether it being developing anxiety, depression or in my case resurfacing anger issues from my teenage years.

“Knowing that these feelings could have been prevented if I knew of an outlet to reach for, I decided to create my own for those in the local area who are suffering from mental health at this very moment in time.”

For more information visit www.lpdart.co.uk