Annual Report 2011.pdf (size 6 MB) - Offaly County Council

Offaly Comhairle Na nÓg
The Community & Enterprise Department continues to
support Offaly Comhairle na n‟Óg. The purpose of
Comhairle is to link young people to adult decision
making bodies and ensure that young people can
influence policy. The Comhairle Executive meets on a
monthly basis and works on projects that have been
identified by young people. The group is
representative of young people aged 13-17 from a
wide geographical area within the County. Offaly
Comhairle engages with the HSE, Gardai and
Councillors on their issues and is supported by the
collaborative working of Youth workers in Offaly.
In 2011 Offaly Comhairle held its first Youth
Conference “Say It Out Loud”. The Conference
brought together almost 200 young people and
addressed issues that included eating disorders,
sexuality, suicide, teenage pregnancy, addictions &
family issues. The Comhairle Group realised that
there are many issues facing young people and there
is a need to talk about these issues.
The Conference, organised by the Offaly Comhairle
Committee, was the largest event Comhairle has
organised to date and received National Coverage on
RTE.
The Comhairle identified two main issues to address in 2011
- teen suicide and mental health focusing on bullying and
pressures on young people. A key outcome of the
Conference was an application to Headstrong for a Jigsaw
Project for Offaly.
Offaly Jigsaw Project
In 2011 Offaly County Development Board submitted an
application to Headstrong to become a site for a Jigsaw
Project. Offaly Comhairle na n‟Og was instrumental to the
project.The application was successful and Offaly was
selected as a new Jigsaw site after Headstrong received
Government endorsement on January 24 th to provide €3 m
for innovative projects in mental health and to support the
Offaly Local Authorities Annual Report 2011
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