Ballymun Youth Action Project

URRÚS - Ireland’s Community Addiction Studies Training Centre

Promoting Organisation

The Ballymun Youth Action Project (YAP) was established in 1981 after three young people from the Ballymun area died of drug related deaths. YAP believes that:

  • Drug addicts can and do recover
  • The community is the best place for recovery
  • Families do not have to cope on their own

The aims of the Ballymun Youth Action Project are as follows:

  1. To develop a community response to drug abuse.
  2. To provide advice, information, and support to those who are addicted and to those living with addiction.
  3. To develop preventative services, particularly in relation to young people at risk or vulnerable to drug abuse.
  4. To engage in community education in drug abuse.
  5. To work closely with other voluntary and statutory groups providing community services.
  6. To facilitate research into drug abuse in the area.

Rationale and Aim

URRÚS - Ireland’s Community Addiction Studies Training Centre was created by the Ballymun Youth Action Project to provide quality training on all aspects of drug abuse and addiction to a range of different target groups, including voluntary community activists and professionals who encounter addiction issues in their work.

The aim of URRÚS (Irish for “strength” / “confidence”) is to establish a centre of learning and excellence where people can access a range of training options aimed at increasing their personal effectiveness in the area of responses to drug abuse. And in so-doing, to increase their personal skills, effectiveness, and employment potential for the future. URRÚS has developed a range of training modules on drug abuse, addiction and community responses which can be adapted and used in other communities in Ireland and in other European countries.


Target Group and their Circumstances

URRÚS - Ireland’s Community Addiction Studies Training Centre has targeted a number of groups who are interested in the provision of training in relation to drug and addiction issues. They are as follows:

  • Local Community Members and Activists
    (Adults with low educational qualifications, Under educated adults, Educators, IV drug users, Paid community activists, Participants on vocational training programmes, Voluntary community activists, Women returners, Early school leavers)
  • Youth and Community Workers
  • Community Care Teams
    (Doctors, Home-helps, Social workers)
  • Law Enforcement Personnel
    (Probation and Welfare Officers, Gardai, JLO’s, Prison Workers)
  • Educators
    (Teachers, School Guidance Counsellors, Home-School Liaison Staff, FAS Workshop Tutors, Youthreach Tutors)
  • Ballymun Youth Action Project Staff

These groups have been targeted because of their desire to become more effective in dealing with drug abuse/addiction in their work and their personal lives.


Actions and Innovation

URRÚS - Ireland’s Community Addiction Studies Training Centre will be a dedicated centre of learning which will bring together the Ballymun Youth Action Project’s two fields of expertise - community work and drugs work. URRÚS will design and deliver a range of education programmes to meet the needs of local communities and professionals who encounter addiction in their work. Integrating the concepts of community development in the design of effective responses to drug abuse represents a highly innovative approach. This approach recognises that no single service can solve the problem of drug abuse.

URRÚS will provide a unique facility where local people and professionals can learn together about addiction and community work. Currently, there is no centre of this kind in Ireland and its development represents a key step in developing a necessary multi-disciplinary response to drug and alcohol related issues. URRÚS will be making available training to those who otherwise are excluded from other forms of education. It will also be innovative in that URRÚS will have local people from the Ballymun Youth Action Project, involved in training other local people and professionals in the field. It will be a true example of Community Education and empowerment of a normally excluded community.


Transnational Dimension

An important component of the Ballymun Youth Action Project’s initiative is its transnational dimension. URRÚS and its three transnational partners will facilitate the sharing of practice, information and policy in the drug information/education field. With the assistance of our transnational partners, URRÚS will develop training modules that will be transferable to other member states. The three transnational partners, which provide a wide range of services, have a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share with URRÚS. De Sleutel of Belgium will share their experience of providing addiction training for prison officers. The Northlands Institute of Derry, Northern Ireland will provide a model for developing a “Drug Education” package. Odense Magistrat of Denmark will share their experience of reorganising services to become more integrated as well as client centred and child centred.


Outcomes

The Ballymun Youth Action Project will establish Ireland’s first Community Addiction Studies Training Centre - URRÚS. URRÚS will provide community groups and concerned citizens a resource where they can access a range of training options aimed at increasing their effectiveness in the area of responses to drug abuse. URRÚS will provide disadvantaged individuals progression routes to further education, by providing accredited courses. URRÚS will result in the increased capacity and confidence of various target groups in dealing with addiction and in so-doing increase their employment potential for the future. URRÚS will also develop training modules and materials that will be used in Ireland and in other European countries.

The Ballymun Youth Action Project staff will also increase their personal and professional skills in the area of course planning/delivery. The profile of the Ballymun Youth Action Project as a centre of expertise on addiction will also be raised. Information on different approaches and policies to drug addiction will be shared with our transnational partners. URRÚS will contribute to building the profile of community addiction studies in other member states.

For further information please contact:

John Adams (Training Centre Co-ordinator)
Mary-Ellen McCann (Co-ordinator, Ballymun Youth Action Project)

URRUS - Ireland’s Community Addiction Studies Training Centre
Ashly House, First Floor
Swords Road
Santry
Dublin 9.

Tel: +353 (1) 842 57 26
Fax: +353 (1) 842 57 29
Email: byap@iol.ie




Return to Top of Page
Return to Integra's Systems Development Project Page


HOME | INTRODUCTION | NEWS | EVENTS | PROJECT | EMAIL US | EMPLOYMENT | NEW ROUND | WHITEBOARD | HORIZON | NOW | YOUTHSTART