A crisis cafe for young people in Co Down has been hailed for providing a safe space.
The UK National Lottery-funded project provides hot meals as well as support, music lessons, training and a quiet place to complete homework.
The facility, beside the bus station in Newry, is open after school and in the evenings for young people.
Louise Quinn, manager of Crisis Cafe, said the core of the idea is to be there to help people.
She described it as an early intervention, helping to stop issues escalating to crisis point.
“From needing a hot meal and a place to do their homework, to music lessons and barista training, we have loads going on to suit everyone’s interests, but at the core we’re there to help young people if they had a bad day or are facing some more serious challenges in their lives,” she said.
“All the sessions we run are called ‘cafes’ as we like to keep them informal, social and welcoming – not strict or clinical. The young people decide on the cafe themes, which currently include arts homework support, photography, LGBTQAI+ support, and an 18-25 cafe. We’ve had to extend our opening hours with more and more young people walking through our doors.
“All the activities we run contribute to positive mental health and building connections, but we also have more focused mental health support through informal chats or counselling sessions.
“We find that once we get the young people through the doors and they’ve settled into our cafe sessions, then they get more confidence to talk about any mental health issues, such as anxiety and low mood.”
Tara Haffey (18) is one of the young people who regularly attend, and now sits on the Youth Advisory Board.
“At school I’ve always felt a bit out of place and I couldn’t talk about my mental health as no-one else was,” she said.
“When I started coming here, I felt comfortable and normal – everyone is welcome, you are accepted for who you are and not judged for how you feel. It is a positive social space that always lifts my mood.”
Grainne Graham, who helps to run the cafes – along with volunteers, added: “Louise and I are always available for casual chats, which could be just talking about their day or how they are feeling.
“We want the young people to enjoy coming here and not feel any pressure to talk if they don’t feel comfortable.
“We then get to know them and learn their interests and strengths, so if something is wrong and they’ve had a bad day then we can have a chat and be authentic, pointing out the positives about themselves and help them reflect.
“We are always building our relationship and trust with them, so they don’t have to only talk to us when it’s serious and there is no stigma attached to having a chat with us.”
The group received a £336,881 (€400,200) grant from The National Lottery Community Fund last year to run three years of activities for young people to build friendships and feel safe accessing services without facing any stigma.
Crisis Cafe also took part in the National Lottery’s People’s Projects campaign and won £69,740, thanks to the public voting for them, to provide additional support for young people to address digital and food poverty.
Some £786 million has been awarded to communities across the North since the first UK National Lottery draw in 1994.
