Caithness says a fond farewell to mental health stalwart

Colleagues and friends of Julie Marker wished her all the best as she moves south after making a significant impact on mental health services in the county.

Julie was the service manager of Listening Ear Caithness and was involved with the projects Here for Caithness and Caithness Cares which delivered various beneficial services within the county.

Davie Snashall, who takes on the new role of outreach development manager with Listening Ear Caithness, said: "Julie came to Caithness a few years ago with her husband, John Marker, who was the pastor at the Free Church in Thurso.

"As such they were both instrumental in many community activities and worked tirelessly for the people of Caithness, in supporting various projects and initiatives to benefit the wider Caithness area and demographics. Julie was instrumental in creating and setting up many initiatives and projects, a number of which were under the umbrella of the Caithness Voluntary Group.

"These strands will be known to many as Listening Ear Caithness, Here for Caithness and Caithness Cares. Despite the complexities and difficulties that the recent Covid crisis presented to us all here in Caithness and beyond, it is testament to Julie and the aforementioned organisations, that their service delivery continued throughout the crisis, albeit constrained due to Covid restrictions etc.

"Although John's work took both him and Julie away from Caithness in 2021, Julie's work with the area continued until the end of February 2023. Her connections will last forever, and as such, we hope to see Julie, John and their family in Caithness in the future. Caithness’s loss is the south’s gain, and as such, we wish Julie all the very best in her new role and life further south."

The Facebook page for Listening Ear Caithness carried a post in which many, who had known Julie or benefited from her tireless efforts to improve mental health provision, paid tribute to her.

The post reads: "We would like to extended these sincere wishes from all our service users and everyone in our peer-to- peer support groups – JiM (Join In More), JaN (Join And Natter) and Listening Ear Anxiety Support – as well as the wider Caithness community that Listening Ear have supported over the past three years, in saying THANK YOU JULIE."

One person wrote under the post saying "you are such a compassionate person who inspires all. Wishing you all the best in your new role" while another said "Good luck Julie, and well done with everything you achieved during your time in this role - you put your heart and soul into it - it was lovely to work with you".

More info on Listening Ear Caithness can be found by searching online at @ListeningEarCaithness

Julie also did regular contributor articles for the Groat and Courier.

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