The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Annual Report 2008archive.headstrong.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/... · 2016. 6. 18. · Tony Bates Founding Director Headstrong wants

The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Annual Report 2008

2 Headstrong Annual Report 08

Contents MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 1

MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDING DIRECTOR 3

WHAT WE DO 5

JIGSAW - SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION 7

JIGSAW GALWAY CITY & COUNTY 7

JIGSAW YOUNGBALLYMUN 10

COUNTY KERRY 13

COUNTY MEATH 15

COUNTY ROSCOMMON 15

EVALUATION 16

HEADSTRONG’S WORK CONTINUES WITH COMMUNITIES BEYOND THE JIGSAW DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMMES 16

HEADSTRONG’S NATIONAL SURVEY OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN IRELAND - MY WORLD 17

ADVOCACY 18

EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES 19

FUNDRAISING 20

FINANCIAL REPORT 21

APPENDIX 1 - WHO WE ARE 23

OUR PARTNERS 23

OUR BOARD 24

OUR GOVERNANCE 26

OUR YOUTH ADVISORS 27

THE HEADSTRONG TEAM 27

Our Vision, Mission & Values

Headstrong’s VisionAn Ireland where young people are connected to their community and have the resilience to face challenges to their mental health.

Headstrong’s MissionChanging how Ireland thinks about young people’s mental health through the Jigsaw Programme of service development, research and advocacy.

Headstrong’s ValuesHeadstrong respects the voice of young people and believes that all young people should be given the supports to develop good mental health;

Headstrong recognises that young people, communities and Government all have a role and contribution in developing a supportive environment to foster mental health in young people;

Headstrong seeks to innovate, challenge and apply best-practice in youth mental health in an Irish context;

Headstrong is an evidence-led organisation which researches and evaluates all of its work.

1 Headstrong Annual Report 08 Headstrong Annual Report 08 2

offers a strategic way to respond to the growing stresses among young people that is mindful of the limited resources currently available to Government. Much of what we need is already there; we need to reconfigure how our current services can work better for young people. Young people themselves have a crucial part to play in this process.

2009 will see further comprehensive plans to implement Jigsaw submitted by Kerry, Meath and Roscommon, and Headstrong’s foundation document ‘Somewhere to turn to, someone to talk to’ will be launched.

In 2008 Headstrong launched the pilot phase of the national baseline research project - “My World”. This survey begins the development of the first national database on the mental health and well-being of young people aged between 12 and 25 across a comprehensive range of areas.

In 2009 the findings from the pilot phase of the ‘My World’ youth survey will be available. This will provide up to date and comprehensive information on the risk and protective factors for young people in relation to their mental health. In 2009 Phase 2 of the pilot study will include looking at the mental health of young people from minority and disadvantaged groups and will also begin to look at older adolescents (18-25 years). The findings from this study will be critical in shaping current thinking and practice to further develop Ireland’s youth mental health agenda.

In 2008, Headstrong expanded membership of the national Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) to include young people from across a diverse range of communities and the Jigsaw demonstration projects. Local Jigsaw planning teams have also progressed their youth involvement and development of local Jigsaw YAPs. The larger membership of YAP has been hugely beneficial, in providing a diversity of viewpoints. The requests for members of our YAP to participate at conferences and speak at public events is ever increasing and demonstrates the increased understanding of the value of listening to young people talk about what is important to them in their lives today.

I would sincerely like to thank both my colleagues on the Board and the staff of Headstrong for their passionate commitment to this work in 2008. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Youth Advisory Panel members, who continue to play a critical role in shaping the thinking of our work here at Headstrong.

Headstrong was able to achieve so much in 2008 due to core support from One Foundation and the Dormant Accounts Fund. However, we have to raise every penny we spend each year. With a mission as critical as youth mental health in these challenging times, finding the resources to achieve our goals in 2009 will be a mighty task. We will be seeking support from parents, young people, companies, philanthropies and government during 2009 in order to ensure that we can deliver on our promises.

“Much of what we need is already there; we need to reconfigure how our current services can work better for young people. Young people themselves have a crucial part to play in this process”

This last year also saw Headstrong expand its work to communities in Kerry, Meath and Roscommon, all of whom have been awarded a planning grant to support the development of the Jigsaw programme in their counties. As the work of Headstrong and its Jigsaw programme resonates around the country, many other communities have indicated their interest in changing the way services and supports are provided to young people. Whilst this is encouraging, it also raises a resource issue with regards to being able to support more communities outside the five demonstration projects to which Headstrong is committed.

In order for the work of Jigsaw to expand beyond the five demonstration projects, Headstrong is working with relevant Government departments, the HSE and other agencies to explore how initiatives such as Jigsaw can be rolled out across the country.

The current economic climate presents both challenges now operating in, Jigsaw provides a very credible option for communities to engage around how to best support their young people. With its primary focus on re-engineering existing services rather than adding to what’s already there, Jigsaw

Chairperson

2008 marked the year that Headstrong opened its first Jigsaw project for young people in the city and county of Galway. This was a significant achievement in Headstrong’s mission to shape services and supports for young people in their local community. In addition, Jigsaw youngballymun was launched with a team of workers from over 18 agencies in Ballymun working together as part of a “wraparound facilitation programme” to support young people in Ballymun.

The Board and staff of Headstrong are pleased to present our Annual Report for 2008.

Message from the Chair

Deirdre Mortell


As young people develop from adolescents into young adults they will all, at some time and to varying degrees, experience challenges to their mental health and well-being. We know that it is not possible to shield young people from adversity, but believe that by creating networks of support right across the community, that young people can develop the skills, self-confidence and resilience to confront these challenges.

Headstrong plays a critical role as an independent, non-profit, expert partner to all those working to improve the mental health of young people including health service providers, educators, youth workers and the wider community. We particularly value the involvement of young people in both identifying the issues and developing solutions. With young people’s involvement we

will develop a support system that will be appealing and accessible to young people. Young people also work with Headstrong to reduce the stigma associated with mental ill health.

In 2008 we have made real progress in our service development - “Jigsaw”, our research and our advocacy programmes. Jigsaw Galway opened in December 2008 in partnership with the HSE and Mental Health Ireland. The number of young people accessing support from day one demonstrated the need for a project of this nature and also demonstrated that the project is truly youth friendly. Jigsaw youngballymun was also launched in December 2008 in partnership with youngballymun.

In 2008 we also made significant progress in our research programme. Ethical approval was received for the “My World” study on the risk and protective factors for young people. By the end of 2008 the pilot study had collected data from 1,077 young people from secondary schools. Feedback from the participants in this study has been very positive with the majority of young people saying they welcome being involved in the discussion of their mental health. This study will provide us with a window into what living in Ireland as a young person is like.

Our Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) has participated in many events, as individual speakers and as a panel. In the last 12 months we have expanded the membership of the YAP and they have been very much in demand.

My thanks go to the Youth Advisory Panel for their continued commitment to Headstrong, to a hardworking and creative Board and a team of dedicated and innovative staff. We are also grateful to the Irish Government and to the HSE for working with us locally in developing Jigsaw and supporting our work at a national level.

I would also like to thank our Donors, in particular the One Foundation and the Government through the Dormant Accounts Fund for their continued support and ongoing commitment to the work of Headstrong.

Thanks also to all those who have shown their support for Headstrong in a variety of ways, by making donations, by holding fundraising events on our behalf, by committing their staff to work on Jigsaw and by agreeing to participate in our research. Our supporters come from all spectrums of Irish society and reflect that mental health is a real element of all of our lives.

The year ahead will see further Jigsaw projects opened, publication of the initial findings from our research and an expansion of our research study as well as advancing youth participation and advocacy at a local and national level. As we enter financially challenging times, it is my hope that this allows us all to see the resources that we have within ourselves individually and as a community, and to use those resources to support our young people and to encourage them to support their community.

We live in changing times and one of the positive changes in Ireland is the emerging openness to talk about mental health. But we want to go further. While welcoming the increasing openness to talk about mental ill health, we want Ireland to deepen its understanding of the importance of positive mental health and to better understand what is involved in nurturing and strengthening mental health.

Tony BatesFounding Director

Headstrong wants to change the way Ireland thinks about young people (aged 12- 25) and their mental health.

“With young people’s involvement we will develop a support system that will be appealing and accessible to young people”Message from the

Founding Director


What We DoHeadstrong and the Jigsaw programme are wholly aligned to, and are the operational expressions of Irish national policy including:

• AVisionforChange(2006)

• ReachOutNationalStrategyfor Action on Suicide Prevention (2005)

• ThePrimaryCareStrategy(2003)

• NationalChildren’sStrategy(2000)

• GetConnected-Developingan Adolescent Friendly Health Service (2001)

• ABetterFutureNow(2005)– Irish College of Psychiatrists

and international policy: in particular, WHO policy for an effective youth friendly mental health service.

The work of Headstrong has been acknowledged by Government through their support nationally, their financial support through the Dormant Accounts Fund grant and the involvement of the HSE locally in Jigsaw. Minister John Moloney, who has responsibility for Mental Health and Disability at the Department of Health and Children, has been a strong supporter of Headstrong since his appointment and is working alongside Headstrong to improve mental health services for young people and to reduce stigma associated with the issue.

Jigsaw Galway

opened and began

providing supports

and services to

young people from

December 2008

AdvocacyShaping public attitudes and government policy regarding youth mental health issues

ResearchIdentifying key mental health risk & protective factors in young people in Ireland today.

Headstrong works through 3 inter-related programmes to change how Ireland thinks about young people’s mental health. Headstrong relies on local partners from a wide range of backgrounds to work with us in developing the Jigsaw projects.

Service DevelopmentBringing community services and supports together for young people through the Jigsaw programme.

Evaluating the impact of the Jigsaw programme.

Minister John Moloney, responsible for Mental Health and Disability at the Department of Health and Children


Jigsaw: Service Development and Evaluation

Jigsaw Galway opened on December 1st, closely followed by the launch of Jigsaw youngballymun on December 12th. We also saw two other communities being awarded Jigsaw planning grants in Counties Kerry and Roscommon to support the planning process for the development of Jigsaw in their areas. County Meath, which was awarded a planning grant in late 2007, launched its planning phase in September 2008.

JIGSAW GALWAY CITY & COUNTYWhat Happened in 2008After a year of developing the necessary infrastructure and support, and with Headstrong working together with the support and commitment from the HSE and Mental Health Ireland, Jigsaw Galway opened its doors to young people in December. This was a very satisfying moment for all concerned given the significant work which had been undertaken in getting it to this point.

The hub in Mary Street was transformed from a shell of a building to a warm and welcoming environment, which includes GP consulting rooms, counselling rooms, a funky outdoor area, a welcoming kitchen and an informal drop in and reception area. Much of this was made possible by funds raised from the annual Galway Cycle organised by students at NUI Maynooth. This event was significant in raising the profile of Jigsaw Galway and informing the community about developments for a new service targeting young people’s health and well-being needs.

2008 was the year that Jigsaw became a reality with the support of our many partners, particularly the HSE and the development partnerships with the commitment and leadership they have shown.

Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney and Minister Pat Carey, then Minister of State at the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, both visited Jigsaw Galway in Mary Street where they met with Headstrong and HSE staff and a number of young people involved in the Jigsaw Galway Youth Advisory Panel. Current Minister for Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamonn O’Cuiv, met with the Galway Jigsaw YAP. Following his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister John Curran also visited Jigsaw Galway.

The Jigsaw Galway project is based around a ‘one stop shop’ model, which brings a number of services together in order to provide a broad range of accessible services and supports to young people in an environment which works for them. Built into the project is the capacity to provide outreach and to ensure that services are more coordinated so that young people can access Jigsaw Galway from a number of access points. It includes youth participation, service provider education and training and service coordination.

YOUNG PEOPLE

accessing hub via direct or self -referral

SECONDARY CONSULTATION & SUPPORT TO

WORKERS with young

people

SERVICE PROVIDER Education & training

SESSIONAL INREACH provided by voluntary &

statutory service providers

Mary Street HubHeadstrong FundedSubstance Misuse WorkerCommunity Research & Development Worker

Sessional G.P.

HSE FundedProgramme ManagerClinical Team Leader

Primary Health Care NurseSupport Worker x2

Sessional Psychiatrist

SESSIONAL OUTREACH within County

Galway

SESSIONAL OUTREACH

in East Galway

SESSIONAL OUTREACH

in Galway City

inreach / outreach

service provider

young people

service provision to young people

Key

Activities1) Direct Support2) Secondary Construction & Support3) Outreach to other areas4) Inreach to other providers5) Service provider education and training


JIGSAW YOUNGbALLYMUN

What Happened in 2008?2008 saw Jigsaw youngballymun finalise their community business plan, which outlined three key areas of focus for their Jigsaw project.

One key element is the Wraparound Facilitator model, which trains and supports a number of existing workers in Ballymun to provide enhanced support to young people with emerging mental health problems. A comprehensive training programme was developed involving a range of agencies and those who work with young people. This training was designed to build on the existing skills of those working with young people in Ballymun and to build on the strong feeling of “community” in Ballymun. The Wraparound model expands the support structures available to young people and works with them in a way | that works best for the young person. Wraparound puts the young person at the centre of decision making about their life. The workers who carry out this training and become Wraparound Facilitators are able to assist young people to identify the resources they already have to help them solve their problems and give them any extra support they might need to resolve a more complex problem. This empowers young people and helps develop problem-solving skills, while also making sure that they don’t get lost between gaps in the system.

Youth InvolvementCiara Togher, a member of the Youth Advisory Panel in Jigsaw Galway, interviews Priya Prendergast, Local Health Manager, HSE West.

Q: To begin with, could you tell me what your job title is and what this entails?

A: I am the senior manager here in the HSE West. My official title is Local Health Manager. I manage everything outside of the actual hospital, for example medical cards etc.

Q: How active were you in the development of Jigsaw?A: Well, I was involved from the very beginning. Excuse the jargon but I would like to explain to you how I see things. I would take a ‘chronic disease prevention approach’. By this I mean that adults with long standing illness can have a very different life in comparison to those without such illnesses. It can really affect the lifestyle of the individual. So the vision with Jigsaw was to prevent this, to create a centre of youth well-being where the focus is on prevention. Where expert help can be accessed earlier and help the young person come up with strategies for coping with the various difficulties they may face.

Q: How important do you think it is to have young people involved in the different decision making processes for Jigsaw?

A: I think it is vital. When you are trained, no matter what field you work in, you are told that you know best. You do things to people. I hoped that if young people were involved in decision making we would achieve three things. Firstly, that young people would ‘buy into it’ because it is designed by young people. Secondly this also means that it is young person focused and tailor made to meet the needs of young people. And finally, it stops us from going off and thinking that we know best because we have the young people there to bring us back.

Q: In comparison to other countries, why do you think it has taken Ireland so long to follow suit in making young people active in organisations like Headstrong and the Jigsaw Programme?

A: Well, I think there has been an international movement in relation to this. Headstrong was developed to tackle this problem so when Jigsaw was being developed the HSE wanted to support it.

Q: How is the success of Jigsaw measured?A: We have a number of outcome measures. The programme will be evaluated. We will be able to assess how quickly young people who need help can access it. We will assess how young people themselves view the service. We will also assess how the local community responds to Jigsaw and how quickly schools and different organisations respond to us. There will be a survey carried out at some point to assess these things. We have a number of targets that will be assessed over the next few years.

CT: Finally, how do you think Jigsaw differs from other services?

A: The difference with Jigsaw, is that we are a drop-in centre that can fast track young people on their way to the different services they may need. I like to think of it as a web of support around the young person. The young person may just need to be seen in Jigsaw or may need other services, which they will gain access to through using Jigsaw. It is a complete network of support for the young person.

Youngballymun Funded

Orgs. providing 1/2 to 1 day per wk to support wraparound facilitator model

Core ElementsManagement and Support

Wraparound Network Co-ordinator

Clinical Psychologist

Future Crisis Response Service

Youth Café

ProbationServiceHSE

Psychiatry / Social Work

Ballymun Regional Youth

Service

Trinity Comprehensive

Drug Service

Geraldstown House

Aisling Project

Youth Action Project

Dublin City Council

Ballymun Job Centre

Key


An extensive training programme was delivered in

ballymun with youngballymun and Community Action

Network. 44 individuals from 18 different agencies took

part in Wraparound Facilitator Training. Daire Ni Bhraoin, a member of the Youth Advisory Panel, interviews Catherine and Graham from Jigsaw youngballymun and talks about her involvement.

As usual it all started with a phone call from Axis. Emma Connors asked would I be interested in opening youngballymun’s new mental health service for young people; “Jigsaw youngballymun”. I said yes thinking it would be a small thing, but boy was I wrong! It wasn’t until I sat down with Emma, Mark O’Brien (Arts Development Manager of Axis) and Eleanor McClorey (CEO of youngballymun) that I realised what an honour this was. youngballymun in association with Headstrong were launching a new service for the young people of Ballymun. Sylda Langford, the Director General of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs would be speaking as well as Tony Bates (Headstrong) and Eleanor. What appealed to me was even though these important people were speaking, so were the people who deal directly with the young people in Ballymun. One of the best speeches of the day was by Angie Birch a youth worker from BRYR, it was clear she cared greatly about what she was speaking about. The fact that I was asked to open the launch and myself and my friends performed, showed that youth participation would be a key component of the Jigsaw service. Also that I was later asked by Tony to join the Headstrong Youth Advisory Panel to represent Ballymun also helps with Jigsaw’s youth friendly image. Everyone comments on the fact that a young person opened the launch.

Q: How did Jigsaw come together?A: Jigsaw Ballymun emerged from various stakeholders coming together to look at youth mental health and well- being and how they could work together better to make sure that young people in Ballymun had good supports and structures for good mental health.

Q: What has Jigsaw youngballymun done so far?A: In 2008 the major piece of work that the Jigsaw project took on was the Wraparound Facilitation Training. This training was designed to enhance the existing skills of those working with young people in Ballymun and to build on the strong feeling of community in Ballymun.

Q: What is Wraparound Facilitation Training?A: The idea of the Wraparound Facilitation is to put young people at the centre of making decisions about their life. The workers who carry out this training and become WAFs (Wraparound Facilitators) are able to help young people identify the resources they already have to help them solve their problems and give them any extra support they might need to resolve a more complex problem. This empowers young people and helps develop problem-solving skills, while also making sure that they don’t get lost between the gaps in the system.

Q: What was the big success of 2008?A: The success of 2008 was getting 44 people from different backgrounds together to take part in the Wraparound Facilitation Training and in building good relationships with organisations on the ground.

Q: What Do You Hope for Next Year?A: We want to begin work on the other goals of the Jigsaw project and build in more youth participation so that young people have a say in the supports and services that will be working for them.

Planning grants committed to Counties Meath, Kerry and Roscommon.

The second element of the Jigsaw youngballymun model is aiming to develop a crisis response service for young people in extreme crisis or distress. Different best-practice models will be examined and the most appropriate model agreed to in collaboration with local agencies will be implemented locally. The third strand is a more universal approach, which looks at the Ballymun community as a whole. It will focus on developing low level supports for young people such as a youth café and broader community generated initiatives which aim to support the well-being of young people in Ballymun.

The year ended with the Jigsaw youngballymun project being launched, which provided an opportunity for the community at large to hear more about Jigsaw and what was being developed locally to support young people.

Youth InvolvementIn 2008 Headstrong began a piece of work with the Ballymun Regional Youth Resource (BRYR) and a group of young women from Ballymun. Headstrong met on regular basis to discuss the issues that young people face in Ballymun and explore what they might see as solutions to these issues. The spirit and insight of these young women was boundless and it provided a great opportunity to understand the issues that young people face.

Continuing the development of youth participation in 2008, Headstrong’s Board met with a group of young people from a local school, Trinity Comprehensive, and discussed with them the development of the Jigsaw project in Ballymun as well as issues for young people in the area.

These strong foundations of engaging in dialogue in 2008 will continue to be built upon in 2009 with the establishment of a youth advisory forum to guide the development of Jigsaw youngballymun.


COUNTY KERRY

What Happened in 2008Headstrong began to work with Co. Kerry in early 2008 at which point the local planning group led by North Kerry Together (Local Development Group) submitted an expression of interest to be considered for a Jigsaw planning grant. Upon approval of the planning grant, an extensive county wide needs and resource analysis was conducted. This laid the foundation for the development of a comprehensive plan to address the mental health and well-being needs of young people in County Kerry.

The Jigsaw development in Kerry has seen an impressive number of organisations from a variety of sectors involved in the planning process. The essence of the approach, which emerged in Kerry in 2008, is a whole community approach to youth mental health. The strategies to enhance youth mental health in the business plan reflect this and will be based around three key pillars: enhancing the capacity of the community to support young people, enhancing the capacity of young people themselves and co-ordinating and linking with existing mental health services in a manner which supports this approach and enables the development of youth friendly services which are accessible when required. They have also been extremely proactive in developing their Youth Advisory Panel which has played a critical role in the development of the business plan for County Kerry.

Youth InvolvementThe Kerry YAP has taken on various tasks in supporting the Kerry Jigsaw Project including: public speaking, consulting with relevant groups on request, developing specific plans for services for young people in Kerry and working closely with Kerry Jigsaw Planning Group in developing services and contributing to the overall goals.

In 2008 the Jigsaw Kerry Youth Advisory Panel has:

Raised the profile of Headstrong and the Jigsaw Kerry project, of youth mental health and of youth participation through speaking at public events and conferences, and they have met and will continue to meet with relevant organisations and communities.

Held frequent Youth Advisory Panel meetings to discuss key issues raised by young people and brought this knowledge to the Jigsaw Planning meetings as members of the planning team.

Worked with people with various backgrounds of expertise in the area of health promotion, the media and community leadership to help deepen the YAP’s analysis and build their skills in these areas.

Accepted an invitation by the largest school in the county to deliver a presentation of the Jigsaw Kerry schools’ plan at the Annual General Meeting. This was met with much support from teachers, parents, Principal and most importantly students.

Identified weaknesses within the Youth Advisory Panel and set in place goals to increase proficiency of the YAP.

The panel have accepted several invitations from key figures and organisations within the county requesting involvement/expertise in strategies they have.



EvALUATIONRigorous evaluation has been built into Jigsaw and will be key in determining the success of the five demonstration projects. The learning from these will be fed back into the programme and will ensure we can develop a successful national programme.

There are five essential units of analysis. These are:

1) the community as a whole,

2) young people as a sub group of the overall population of the demonstration programme,

3) agencies and organisations that comprise systems of care,

4) providers and carers who interact with young people, and,

5) specific young people who are at risk or in distress and are served by the Jigsaw projects.

The purpose of the Jigsaw demonstration programme evaluation will be:

to understand what was planned, and why;

to describe what actually occurred;

to determine whether anything changed;

to ascertain what worked and what didn’t work;

to reach some conclusions about why;

to conclude whether the approach is worth the cost;

To build a “database” to help others learn from the experience and replicate Jigsaw.

HEADSTRONG’S WORK WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES Headstrong’s work with five Jigsaw demonstration projects around Ireland has generated considerable interest from other communities since it began in 2006. Headstrong is now looking at ways in which it may be able to support interested communities in their efforts to better address the mental health needs of young people in their community.

A key rationale for continuing to support communities outside the primary Jigsaw programme is to enhance the thinking around what will be more effective in the development of services and supports for young people in their community. In addition, the aim is to raise community awareness on a larger scale around mental health and the importance of help-seeking. Headstrong are examining ways in which it may be possible to continue to use evidenced-based and best-practice strategies along with fee-based training and evaluation, with a view to ensuring communities are aligned to the principles of Jigsaw in supporting their young people.

Headstrong is mindful of the limited resources available to support communities in developing youth mental health responses locally, while supporting five demonstration projects. However, beyond the five Jigsaw demonstration projects Headstrong has begun to work with a number of other communities in advising them on different approaches in their planning to better support young people’s mental health and well-being.

COUNTY MEATH

What Happened in 2008In 2008 Jigsaw Meath kicked off their planning process with a large community forum in Trim. The event was attended by over 150 people from all over the county and was chaired by Sean Boylan, former Manager of the Meath football team. The Minister for Transport and local TD Noel Dempsey addressed the audience on the importance of a mentally healthy community and supporting those around us. The highlight of the day however came in the form of two young men who spoke openly about their own experience of mental health issues and dealing with the aftermath of suicide in their community and being proactive in responding to what young people need.

A needs and resource analysis was conducted across the county which looked at existing services and supports for young people and identified particular gaps which the local Jigsaw project will look to develop appropriate responses to.

Youth InvolvementYoung people in Meath have been very proactive in engaging with Headstrong. In fact one of our first visits to Meath was back in 2007 when young people from the No Name club in Athboy invited Headstrong to meet with them and discuss the work that they were doing on the behalf of young people in Athboy. Since then we have continued to build a good relationship with young people in Meath through Jigsaw. This has included focus groups with young people in Meath to discuss the Jigsaw Meath project and collect their views of what is needed for young people in Meath, as well as a youth workshop at the community forum held in Trim. It is intended that 2009 will see Headstrong build upon this great start to youth engagement to establish a strong voice for young people in County Meath.

COUNTY ROSCOMMON

What Happened in 2008County Roscommon was the fifth community selected for a Jigsaw planning grant, which was approved mid-way through the year. A needs and resource analysis was conducted towards the latter end of 2008. Roscommon presents a number of key challenges with regards to determining an appropriate Jigsaw project given its rural nature and no easily identifiable hub for service delivery given the spread of towns throughout the county.

Youth InvolvementDuring the needs analysis and data collection in Roscommon, Headstrong ran several focus groups with young people from across the county. There was a great response to the concept of the Jigsaw programme among young people and they were very willing to engage in a process of naming what worked for the young people of Roscommon and where the gaps are. In 2009 as Roscommon moves forward into its goal setting stage, these and other young people will have the opportunity to participate in reshaping services and supports in Roscommon in conjunction with their community.


Advocacy

2008 was a busy year for the Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) whose numbers grew from 8 to 18, as we sought to expand our membership and recruit young people from across a diverse range of communities as well as the Jigsaw demonstration projects. YAP advised on many issues including the writing of Headstrong’s foundation document, Somewhere To Turn To, Someone To Talk To; they developed the content for three Headstrong information booklets (published in 2009); they spoke at both professional and public mental health meetings and published two articles in the Irish Times. One of the YAP members completed a summer work internship in Headstrong’s head office and two of them were featured in short one-minute documentaries on youth mental heath, called ‘Is It Just Me?’ (RTE).

Among the events where our YAP members and Headstrong’s youth participation officer Nuala Smith spoke were the following (right):

Headstrong’s national baseline research project ‘My World’ marks the beginning of the development of a database on the mental health and well-being of young people aged between 12 and 25 in Ireland. Several months of an extensive literature review identified key issues that require investigation if we are to adequately profile the mental health status of Irish adolescents. To date, 14 significant issues have been identified from the literature, some to do with those factors that nurture and protect the mental health of young people, some to do with those factors that jeopardise the mental health of young people.

Based on the review carried out, no study to date has published a comprehensive profile of youth mental health across such a wide range of functioning in terms of positive and protective factors, negative factors, behavioural factors and intentional factors.

Headstrong’s aim is to conduct a ten year study of the mental health of young people in Ireland, assessing the selected risk and protective factors that include resilience, optimism, social connectedness, depression, anxiety, the occurrence of bullying and drug and alcohol intake, among others.

This year, the research has focused on the completion of the pilot phase of the My World research study. The pilot phase returned data on 1,077 young people aged between 12 and 18 years from randomly selected schools around Ireland.

Some of the early findings are as follows:

One in five reported having no-one to talk to about their problems, with over 25% reporting that if they had problems with depression, they had no one to turn to.

Only 64% of the sample had an adult they could trust always available to them. However, this was lower for males (56%) than for females (70%).

The school year was found to impact on youth mental health with 3rd and 5th years reporting lower levels of protective factors and higher levels of risk factors when compared to other school years.

In 2009 the data collected will be further analysed. Phase 2 of the pilot study researching the mental health of young people from minority and disadvantaged groups will begin in 2009. The major national phase of the study will begin in 2010 and will be aiming to collect data from a sample of over 10,000 young people including those at school, at college, service users and more marginalised young people.

Barbara Dooley, who is also Head of the School of Psychology in University College Dublin, heads the research team for this national study.

Headstrong’s national survey of young people in Ireland - MY WORLD

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

NOVEMBER

St. Patrick’s Hospital, DublinAWARE Lecture Series“Supporting Young People’s Mental Health”

National Office for Suicide Prevention, 3rd Annual ForumListening to Young People’s Perspectives on Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

Ballybofey, Co. Donegal“From Here to Where? …Making Connections for Youth Participation” Dialogue and Learning Event

Young Social Innovators National Showcase at the RDS which profiled both Headstrong and Jigsaw

OMCYA, Dublin, Presentation to Dail na nOg

Teenline, Dublin Youth Participation Training

Headstrong, DublinOpen forum for young people from youth organisations

Irish Association of Suicidology 12th Annual Conference, Athlone, Co. Westmeath “Youth Suicide in a Changing Society”

Tralee, Kerry, Meeting with Kerry YAP

Dun Laoghaire, Co. DublinMeeting with the Dun Laoghaire Refugee Project

Trim, Co. MeathCommunity forum, including youth workshop on Jigsaw Meath


Throughout 2008 Headstrong became increasingly engaged in both education and training activities and public presentations at both conferences and community events. This has highlighted the need for Education and Training to become a focal point for Headstrong as it further develops its Jigsaw demonstration projects. Some of the forums Headstrong were asked to present at in 2008 included:

Headstrong have also been proactive in providing teaching input for a number of third level courses, which is critical if we are to change the way people think about young people’s mental health and to address the need to think about different ways of providing more integrated supports for young people.

Education and Training Activities

Fundraising is critical for Headstrong, to enable us to deliver on our goals and to improve the mental health of the young people of Ireland. We have many supporters and we will need to build on this to raise increased funds as the organisation grows.

Headstrong receives support from the One Foundation. This includes grant aid, to invest in building the core capacity of Headstrong, and also includes support and expertise. The grant aid is given as a challenge grant, Headstrong are required to raise other funding and work towards financial independence from the One Foundation.

Headstrong was approved grant aid from the Dormant Accounts Fund Flagship grants in 2007 and started receiving funds from this grant in 2008. This grant supports Headstrong’s Jigsaw Programme by €1m over a 2 year period.

Every year, the NUI Maynooth students cycle from Maynooth to Galway and back again, to raise funds for a charity. Headstrong was their chosen charity for 2008. Over 150 keen cyclists took to the roads supported by

teams of collectors and supporters. The Jigsaw Galway hub in Galway city was used as the HQ for a weekend of fundraising events. These committed cyclists and fundraisers raised over €70,000 for Headstrong.

Headstrong also received €20,000 from ESB Electric Aid to support a Jigsaw planning process in County Roscommon and a grant from Community Foundation for Ireland of €2,000 towards the development of our Youth Advisory Panel.

In 2008 we added new features to our website to allow for donations online and we have received many donations from supporters of Headstrong.

Staff of Google have given their time to work on redesigning our website and a number of Googlers travelled to Galway to paint the Jigsaw Galway hub in a range of energetic colours chosen by the Galway YAP. Headstrong have also received other professional services on a pro-bono basis.

The financial support, pro-bono support and the energy and commitment of those who fundraised for Headstrong isgreatlyappreciated–thankyou.

Details of how you can support Headstrong are available from our website www.headstrong.ie

The Maynooth annual student cycle was held in aid of Headstrong,

raising over €70,000

Fundraising

LOCATION

Foroige National Youth Conference Dublin

Department of Education, Mental Health in Schools Workshop Meath

Northern Ireland Assembly, Health Division Belfast

All Ireland Social Work Research Conference Dundalk

Happiness and Its Causes Conference London, UK

Tomorrow’s Child: Barnardo’s National Conference Dublin

National Office for Suicide Prevention, National Forum Dublin

Office of Minister for Children Forum on Prevention and Early Intervention for Children and Youth Dublin


Financial ReportThefollowingsummaryaccountshavebeenextractedfromthestatutoryfinancialstatementsofHeadstrong–TheNationalCentreforYouth Mental Health Limited for the year ended 31 December 2008. The statutory financial statements, on which the auditors, David Gillette & Co. expressed an unqualified opinion, have been filed with the Register of Companies following the Annual General Meeting.

The detailed auditor’s report and accounts can be obtained from our head office.

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH LTD BALANCE SHEET At 31st December 2008

2008 E 2007 E

RESTRICTED UNRESTRICTED DESIGNATED TOTAL TOTAL

INCOMING RESOURCES

Voluntary Income 465,130 867,805 - 1,332,935 1,047,859

Incoming Resources for Charitable Activities - 32,500 - 32,500 80,0000

Deposit and investment income - 15,181 - 15,181 -

Total Incoming Resources 465,130 915,486 - 1,380,616 1,127,859

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Charitable Activities

Service Development 305,110 731,898 - 1,037,008 676,106

Research 7,830 60,646 - 68,476 64,286

Advocacy 32,981 78,669 - 111,650 78,746

Cost of Generating funds

Governance Costs - 43,348 - 43,348 23,911

Total Resources Expended 345,921 914,561 - 1,260,482 843,049

Net Movement in funds 119,209 925 - 120,134 284,810

2008 E 2007 E

ASSETS EMPLOYED

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible Assets 31,087 32,461

31,087 32,461

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors 58,209 61,701

Cash at Bank and in Hand 422,425 273,824

480,634 335,525

CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors, accruals and deferred income 57,653 34,052

57,653 34,052

NET CURRENT LIAbILITIES 422,981 301,473

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIAbILITIES 454,068 333,934

NET ASSETS 454,068 333,934

FINANCED BY

CAPITAL AND RESERvES

ACCUMULATED FUNDS 454,068 333,934

454,068 333,934

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH LTD STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITY (SOFA)For the year ended December 31st, 2008


Our Board

Headstrong’s Board benefits from considerable international expertise in mental health. Headstrong’s commitment to building creative partnerships between state and philanthropic funders is also advanced at Board level.

Headstrong’s Board’s responsibilities include providing strategic direction, ensuring Headstrong acts legally and ethically, approving annual budgets, ensuring funds entrusted to Headstrong are managed appropriately, raising funds and organisational awareness.

Our PartnersWe would like to thank all of our partner organisations for their support in 2008 and their ongoing commitment to support Headstrong’s work.

Appendix One Headstrong Board members in 2008 were:

Deirdre Mortell (Chair) Co-Founder of The One Foundation

Pat Brosnan Director for Mental Health within the Health Service Executive (HSE) Mid-West

Angela Greatley Chief Executive of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH)

Pat McGorry Executive Director of ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Declan Ryan MD of Irelandia Investments and Co-Founder of The One Foundation

Ian Simington Group Development Director of NTR

Chris Underhill Founder Director of Basic Needs

Tony Crooks Adjunct Professor of Applied Social Studies at NUI Maynooth & Chair of the Institute for Professional Management Practice in the Community and Voluntary Sector

Graham Law Google Finance Director EMEA

Mark Mortell Director of Fleishman-Hillard


New members appointed to our Board in 2008 were: Tony CrooksTony Crooks holds Masters degrees from TCD and the University of Toronto and a PhD from TCD. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Applied Social Studies at NUI Maynooth and Chair of the Institute for Professional Management Practice in the Community and Voluntary Sector, established by the National College of Ireland. Previously he has been a teacher and Research Senior Lecturer in TCD and Deputy Director of the City of Dublin VECs Curriculum Development Unit.

In 1991 he was seconded to the Department of An Taoiseach as a member of the National Coordinating Team for the Area Based Response to Long Term Unemployment. In 1993 he was appointed the first CEO of Area Development Management (nowPobal)–acompanyestablishedbytheIrishGovernmentand the EU to manage programmes on behalf of the Irish

Government. In recent years he has been a member of the National Education Welfare Board, the National Childcare Coordinating Committee the statutory Educational Disadvantage Committee and the National Employment Services Advisory Committee

Graham LawGraham joined the Headstrong Board as Treasurer in May 2008. Graham’s current role is Google Finance Director EMEA (European Middle East and Africa) and is based at Google’s EMEA Head Office in Dublin. Graham has over 20 years of extensive international accounting, consulting, audit and finance experience having worked with KPMG (in the USA); Intel Corporation (in the USA and Ireland) and Accenture (in Ireland) prior to joining Google in his current role in early 2007. Graham holds a BA Hons degree in Accounting and Finance from the Lancaster University in England and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mark MortellMark Mortell joined Fleishman-Hillard in August 2002. He is a Director of the Company and leads FH Consulting. Mark is a seasoned marketing and business communications practitioner. He has been Commercial Director of Aer Lingus and was previously Chairman of Bord Fàilte. He was Managing Director of Dimension Advertising and Marketing (part of the McConnell’s Group) up to 1999 and previously held senior marketing positions with Bank of Ireland Group, Mars, Guinness Ireland and Ballygowan Spring Water Company. Mark specialises in corporate communications and strategy and public affairs. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a Member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. He is a regular presenter of Down to Business on Newstalk 106-108FM.

Our GovernanceThe Board conducts its business through the operation of a number of subcommittees and the full Board meets 5 times a year.

Site Selection SubcommitteeMembers: Chris Underhill (Chair), Pat Brosnan, Deirdre Mortell (until October 2008), Tony Crooks (from October 2008). Richard Deane from Pobal attends these meetings as a non member.

Service Development SubcommitteeAngela Greately (Chair) and Pat McGorry.

Finance and Executive SubcommitteeDeirdre Mortell, Ian Simington, Declan Ryan, Graham Law (from May 2008). The Chair of this committee rotates.

Audit SubcommitteeThe audit subcommittee was established in December 2008 with Declan Ryan and Graham Law as members, Deirdre Mortell attends the meeting but in line with best practice as Chairperson she is not a member of the audit subcommittee.

Funding and Public Affairs SubcommitteeThe funding and public affairs subcommittee was established in December 2008 with Mark Mortell (Chair) and Deirdre Mortell as members.

The Founding Director attends all subcommittees and other members of staff may attend subcommittee meetings. Staff act as secretary to the subcommittees.


Our Youth AdvisorsHeadstrong is strongly committed to youth participation and ensuring that young people have a significant voice in the work of the organisation. We have established a Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) with members who have been excellent advocates on behalf of young people across all aspects of our organisation’s development. This is also seen as a critical function of the communities with whom we work, and as a consequence, we advise on the establishment of local YAPs within these communities.

The YAP is a group of young people between the ages of 17 to 27 who act in an advisory capacity to Headstrong. This group of young people give of their time and experiences, playing a key role in the establishment of Headstrong and in helping to make our programmes effective.

The Headstrong Team (as at 31st December 2008)Headstrong has recruited a staff team of 10 people, the majority of whom were recruited in 2007. Within the staff team is expertise in implementing community models for system of care in the USA and Australia.

THE HEADSTRONG TEAM

Tony Bates Founding Director

Barbara Dooley Director of Research

Bob Illback Director of Planning & Evaluation

Craig Hodges Director of Service Development (from January 2008)

Blanaid Cleary Director of Finance and Operations

Karen Galligan Senior Research Officer

Louize Carroll Programme Development Officer - Jigsaw

Faye Scanlan Programme Development Officer (to August 2008)

Nuala Smith Youth Participation Officer

Anja Riber Skydt Office Manager (to May 2008)

Silvia Francavilla Office Manager (from June 2008)

www.headstrong.ie

The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Annual Report 2008

www.headstrong.ie www.jigsaw.ie

Documents

The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Annual Report 2008archive.headstrong.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/... · 2016. 6. 18. · Tony Bates Founding Director Headstrong wants