THE Beara West Family Resource Centre in Castletownbere is launching three new initiatives this autumn in a bid to target and support all sectors of the population on the Beara Peninsula.

The centre is one of a number of family resource centres throughout Ireland, and is funded by TUSLA (The Child and Family Agency). Covering the western end of the Beara Peninsula, it aims to promote wellbeing within the community and helps people to navigate social welfare, housing supports and general family welfare. 

Starting in September, the centre will launch The Scoop - a new programme for young people aged 13–15.

Annie O’Neill, a support development worker with Beara West, said the new programme will provide a relaxed and supportive space where teenagers can explore some of the challenges that come with growing up.

‘In light of a number of recent tragedies on the Beara Peninsula, we felt there was a definite need for something like this,’ Annie said. ‘Young people nowadays have so many pressures, and they live a life which is constantly online.’

She explained that the programme will be facilitated by skilled mentors, as ‘we don’t want a lecture type atmosphere, we’re aiming for real conversations with  practical ideas’.

Annie said the sessions will be broken into blocks of three weeks, covering various topics. At the end of each block the teens will have a form of a toolkit to help then deal with various challenges.

‘The age group of 13 to 15 can be a difficult time, they’re just starting as first years in secondary school, and at the other end of that age bracket they have pressures in school coming up to Junior Cert,’ she said. There will also be a session at the end of the programme specifically for
parents.

Another new initiative is a series of farm discussion evenings bringing people involved in agriculture together to share ideas and discuss relevant topics and hear from guest speakers.

The farming talks came about, says Annie, as the centre was finding it difficult to set up a men’s group, and being in a rural area, they decided to target local farmers.

‘We would like to bring local farmers together and bring in a variety of speakers, and support for them in terms of assistance with online payments, and with online forms.

‘We also have some young farmers in the Beara area who are very entrepreneurial and we’d like to include them in this group.’

The popular women’s group is restarting after the summer break and is also being rebranded as Her Space.

Following feedback from the group and it was decided to create a wider space where women of all ages can connect, learn and support one another.

‘Her Space will now include two strands, craft and chat focused on creativity and connection, and wellness and wisdom, which will explore wellbeing, personal growth and shared experiences,’ explained Annie.

‘We had a very busy year with the women’s group, while there was a massive interest in craft, we felt we had to appeal to everyone so we decided to revamp the group and include a wellness side to it. It will still be friendly space for women, all ages, so they can learn, connect and share experiences.

‘We will also be introducing skill share opportunities, allowing women to share their own skills, hobbies and knowledge with others.’

Craft and chat will run on Tuesday afternoons, while the wellness and wisdom sessions will take place in the evenings.

Further details on the new initiatives and all services the centre offer can be found on www.bearawest.ie.