Mental health service free to young people opens new base

Date Published: {J}

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has officially launched a new hub for Jigsaw Galway – a free and confidential service for young people with emerging mental health difficulties, so that mental illness can be prevented – on Fairgreen Road.

The Jigsaw service aimed at the 15-25 year old age group, the first of its kind in Ireland, is based on international best practice from Australia, America and the UK. Jigsaw Galway started operating from smaller premises on Mary Street, Galway, in December 2008, and has served more than 1,500 people since its inception.

John Fitzmaurice, Programme Manager, Jigsaw Galway, said: “We quickly outgrew our original space. This move has enabled us to co-locate with other services and make a 40% reduction in rental and running costs. It also places us in the heart of the city, opposite the Coach Station in a ground floor open space. Thisis where youth mental health services should be … out in the open.”

Jigsaw’s main aim is to enable young people to access the most appropriate services in as seamless a way as possible, whatever their level of need.

Jigsaw Galway is part of a national programme developed by Headstrong, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. It is a novel approach to addressing the needs of young people, developed on the  basis of a partnership between the HSE, Mental Health Ireland and Headstrong.

The service seeks to strengthen the community’s ability to support young people and engages young people themselves in designing and planning supports that are youth friendly, accessible and nonstigmatising. Local young people form a Youth Advisory Panel and are involved in all the key decisions including recruitment of staff.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.