Mayor Cathal King launches ‘Mojo Project’ on World Mental Health Day

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10/10/2012

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Mayor Cathal King launches ‘Mojo Project’ on World Mental Health Day

In commemoration of World Mental Health Day, the Mayor of South Dublin County, Councillor Cathal King launched in County Library, Tallaght an innovative programme to support men over the age of twenty- five who have been affected by the recession and/or unemployment. When elected to position of Mayor in June 2012, Cllr. King outlined in his acceptance speech that he intended to use his term of Mayor to highlight the issues of Mental Health and Suicide.

According to the World Health Organisation- “the objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise public awareness about mental health issues. The day promotes open discussion of mental health issues, and investments in prevention, promotion and treatment services. This year the theme for the day is “Depression: A Global Crisis”.

Speaking at the launch Mayor Cathal King said: “It is my honour to officially launch the ‘Mojo Project’ here in Tallaght and to meet the many dedicated professionals who are working together for the benefit of our whole community. The partner agencies involved are to be praised for the way in which they have embraced this new way of delivering mental health services and the opportunities it provides for supporting and enabling people. The issue of mental health wellbeing has become a massive problem as a result of the global economic recession and I have personally had a growing number of people mainly young men contact me, expressing how they have become depressed and sometimes suicidal as a result of lack of employment and family breakdown which has a hugely negative impact on the mental health of all involved”.

The ‘Mojo Project’ is a partnership between Dodder Valley Partnership and the National Office for Suicide Prevention, The project works with men over 25 and it aims to promote health and wellbeing through a mix of awareness and capacity building through peer support and activity programmes. The course is run by experienced facilitators who will provide support to men who have been affected by the recession and/or unemployment. Each participant on the programme will have a facilitator assigned to him in order to develop an individualised care plan.

Paula Forrest, Senior Executive Officer for the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention commented, "We are delighted to provide funding to the Mojo Project, which is an innovative example of effective partnership and collaboration at a local level. In 2011, the National Office for Suicide Prevention received additional government funding to help target the increase in suicide brought about by the economic recession. The Mojo project has at its core the needs of young men and demonstrates strong community based co-operation. The project offers a holistic approach linking men into appropriate employment, education and mental health services. The strength of the project to date has been its ability to co-ordinate a range of services locally that can respond to an emerging need in an effective and timely way."

Anna Lee, Chief Executive of the Dodder Valley Partnership, also present at the launch believes “the programme will help to develop the participants’ resilience and will assist them to engage with local education, employment and mental health services so that they can be supported to improve their current circumstances”.

The next programme begins in January, 2013. If you would like further information please contact the project co-ordinator Derek Mc Donnell by email at derek.mcdonnell@doddervalley.ie or 087 66 00 872.

Notes to Editor

Background to Mojo Project

Mojo is an interagency programme (managed by the Dodder Valley Partnership and funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention) developed to provide a coordinated response to men who are in ‘distress’[1] because of the recession and unemployment. The premise is that forced unemployment can increase a man’s risk to suicide.

The key objectives are to provide a resource to men by way of a training programme that engages them on a bi-weekly basis and to facilitate statutory and non statutory organisations to work together.

In working together to develop and facilitate Mojo we expect that the organisations will become more familiar with each other’s services and in turn provide a more comprehensive response to men who find themselves in difficult financial and social situations.

We hope the programme will help to develop the participants’ resilience and will assist them to engage with local education, employment and mental health services so that they can be supported to improve their current circumstances.

Organisational Structure

Dodder Valley Partnership (DVP) will manage the programme with the support of a Programme Co-ordinator. To help guide the work an advisory group (AG) -comprising relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies- has been established. AG membership is drawn from a wide range of services, statutory and non-statutory, that work in the Tallaght area. These include:

· Dodder Valley Partnership (DVP Manager, Flexible Training Unit, Mojo Coordinator and the Positive Action Manager),

· HSE (support after self-harm nurse, Mental Health Service and the Primary Care Team),

· CARP,

· Threshold Training Network,

· Shine,

· Community Health Project,

· Pieta House,

· Ballymun Job Centre,

· South Dublin County Council (social work),

· South Dublin County Sports Department (Link 2B Active),

· Tallaght Adult Education Service,

· Department of Social Protection

· MATES

The National Office for Suicide Prevention:

Was established in 2005 to oversee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ‘Reach Out’ the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014

Plays a pivotal role in funding over forty projects, coordinating and giving strategic direction to the work of the many and diverse voluntary, statutory and non-statutory organisations working to promote positive mental health and reduce suicide and self-harm. We fund a range of organisations such as Samaritans; Console; Pieta House; Shine; National traveller Suicide awareness Project; GLEN; BelongTo; Suicide or Survive; Inspire Ireland etc. covering prevention; intervention; postvention and technology.

• Commissions and funds research into suicidal behaviour in Ireland thus developing strong, evidence based policies and interventions.

• Support the development of standards and guidelines on responding to suicidal behaviour within specific target groups and across different settings.

• Consults and collaborates widely with organisations and interested parties on the implementation of Reach Out’s action areas

• Develops and implements information and education campaigns to increase awareness of mental health and suicide prevention

• Builds capacity through the implementation of a national training programme on suicide prevention. To date Over 3,500 people trained in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and nearly 5,000 in safeTALK (suicide alertness training).

• Advises government bodies and other organisations working in suicide prevention.

• Respond to emerging trends / needs in deliberate self harm and suicide prevention

• Disseminates information and resources

Ends

For further information please contact communications@southdublincoco.ie

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