Unique programmes and Projects in the North and South of Limerick

Limerick Youth Service runs three Garda Youth Diversion Projects in Limerick; Ballynanty (including the areas of Killeely and Thomondgate); Irishtown (including Garryowen and Watergate) and King’s Island (St Mary’s Park). The aim of these Projects is to deter young people from becoming involved in criminality and anti-social behaviour while engaging them in fun, educational and vocational programmes.
This year the Projects received funding from the European Social Fund to run courses for the young people in the areas in which the Project operate to design programmes to help fight unemployment and to prevent these young people losing touch with the labour market. From this grew two programmes – an Accredited IT E-Citizen Programme especially tailored for young men by Mobile IT and a Personal Development Programme for the young women.
The IT Programme began in October 2009 and the participants, aged between 14 to 18 years, took their examinations during December 2009. This January there will be an awards ceremony for those who have gained their accreditation. Their families and friends will be invited to attend. It’s going to be a big celebration because many of the young men taking part have not achieved any formal educational qualifications previously.
The Personal Development Programme also began in October 2009 and focused on the young women’s experiences and feelings around being a young person in Limerick today, what they do and how they live. With the help of psychotherapist Martin O’Sullivan, the participants channelled all their learning into a short film that was screened on Friday 18th December 2009.
A particularly unique factor of these two programmes is that the participants of both were drawn from the three different areas in which the Projects operate. This is significant because in so many cases young people from Limerick city and its immediate environs can be experience segregation among themselves – those from the north of the city not knowing or mixing with those from the Southside and so on. The programmes offered these young people from three different areas - Ballynanty, Garryowen and St Mary’s – the opportunity to work together and to get to know one another as friends and peers.
Youth Justice Worker, Tanya O’Sullivan, who worked of the Ballynanty Project says that these Programmes were beneficial on so many levels in particular the personal development of the young people involved and in challenging the stereotypes that young people had of others from different areas. It also provided the opportunity for inter-project work from the three areas which ensured that the use of the funds was maximised.
Limerick Youth Service is very grateful to the support of the Community Gardai, the Irish Youth Justice Service and the European Social Fund for all their support.