BALLYMUN NEEDS A COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE - LYONS

The HSE and Department of Health need to put the needs of service users of Tús Nua Day Centre first and maintain a community-based service in Ballymun. 

This was the point I raised yesterday (see part of the debate in video above) about the closure of the Tús Nua Day Centre in a debate in Dáil Éireann with Minister of State Alex White.

I met a group of about 15 local people who rely on the Tús Nua service in Ballymun on Monday and they were very fearful about the future of the day centre.

Tús Nua is a safe haven for the 45 users of the services and a place where they can drop in to 4 or 5 times a week to talk to mental health professionals and to come to terms with problems they are experiencing.

Tús Nua helps local people deal with mental health issues through the likes of arts and crafts and cooking classes, as well as practical day-to-day advice around money management. It’s also an important social link to the wider community for a group of vulnerable people who may not otherwise leave their homes or engage with others at all.

I raised the importance of the service in the Dáil on Tuesday and the Minister stated in his response that the centre will not close until the HSE carry out an independent assessment of the needs of those attending the centre and find alternative placements and services for them.

If the HSE is committed to putting the needs of the services users first in the relocation of this service as they say, then they must work with the Social Inclusion Unit in Dublin City Council and other parties to find a more suitable centre in the local area for these people.

As I said when I raised this issue in the Dáil on Tuesday, the people who attend Tús Nua have already overcome adversity to begin engaging with a local service in Ballymun. If they have to move to another venue outside Ballymun, it will see these people put in an even more vulnerable position.

More information

A full transcript of the Dáil Topical Issue Debate and Minister’s response is available here.