Foróige’s Tramore Youth & Family Project have just completed the town’s first ever Be Well week with support from the Community Foundation of Ireland, along with help from other groups in the community. The project received a grant to host a variety of events with the aim of promoting positive mental health among young people and the community and to raise awareness of mental health illnesses and support services for those who may be struggling.
The week kicked off with a visit from Niall Breslin, aka.“Bressie” to Ard Scoil na Mara on the 24th November who gave a moving and inspirational talk to the students about his own battles with his mental health. Throughout the week there were coffee mornings and activities that aimed to reach all sections of the community, young and old. Towards the end of the week there was a special talk for parents from clinical psychologist, broadcaster and author David Coleman who discussed communicating with children and teenagers. To finish off the week, the Be Well team attended Tramore’s Christmas Carnival armed with balloons and other goodies to boost the town’s spirits.
The driving force behind initiative was a group of 10 amazing young people who dedicated many hours after school and at weekends. They came up with some truly innovative ways to spread the Be Well message to all of Tramore including creating “happy packs”, delivering fresh flowers to all those in receipt of Meals on Wheels and delivering batches of mince pies all around town to spread some Christmas cheer. They were also involved in the design and publication of a Be Well booklet for young people and their parents. Every student in Ard Scoil na Mara received a booklet and they are currently being delivered to all houses in Tramore.
The young people and leaders in Foróige Tramore could not be more pleased with how the week went. Foróige youth worker Jean Power said, “We have had some really positive feedback from the community, particularly to the “happy packs”. Knowing that we reached even just one person makes it all worthwhile!”
The Foróige Tramore Youth & Family Project has been in operation since 1996. It is managed by Foróige. They employ two youth officers, Jean Power and Monica Widger. This project works with young people aged 10 - 18 and provides a range of supports for young people and families in the community including homework clubs and study groups, youth café, leadership and citizenship programmes, one to one work, relationships and sexual health education, etc.
Foróige nationwide works with 56,000 young people annually delivering a diverse range of programmes and services to communities. The organisation has more than 5,000 adult volunteers and a network of more than 600 youth clubs and cafes and 150 targeted projects making it the largest youth organisation in the country.
