Men’s Development and Health Care Worker Hugh Friel was one of those protesting outside Leinster House last May to raise awareness of the mental health crisis facing the community. We caught up with Hugh, who’s part of the Men’s Development and Health Care team at Donegal Travellers Project to ask him to explain the impact…
By John Madden Across the country there are several horse projects in operation. One such project is the Offaly Traveller Movement (OTM). The project began as a six-month pilot scheme and after a successful trial run; it was decided to continue it and to roll out a separate one in Laois. These began in 2011…
Recognising the Problem Introduction by John Madden While we are more and more aware of the mental health issues facing the Traveller Community, we can share information from key organisations from across the country. This can be effective to some degree, but often it is the case that people relate more to a person’s lived…
Does Self-Medication Equal Self Destruction? We take a look at the balance between self-help and self-harm and ask the question – When does the substance become the presence in one’s life? By John Madden Let’s be frank, substance abuse is widespread) and there does not seem to be any end in sight. We turn on…
Currently, we are seeing a momentous shift in our own approaches and attitudes to mental health. It’s everywhere, which of course is a hugely positive step in the right direction for Irish society. The last few years have seen a wide range of celebrities opening up about their own stories around their personal struggles and…
Resilience can be described as the person’s capacity to overcome adversity or how well somebody can ‘bounce back’ from some form of knock, be it a traumatic event like the loss of a loved one or even a pet. The experience of loss can shape us as we grow as individual people, take for example…