BIG READ: Praise from Minister for Tipperary's effort in working to help youths

Minister of State with responsibility for Youth Justice, James Browne, was in Tipperary Town on Thursday, November 10 to visit the Teens at Risk (TAR), Youth Diversion Project (YDP).

Youth Diversion Projects engage with vulnerable young people through a range of supports, including education, training and employment support, social enterprise initiatives, as well as personal development and supports such as mentoring, and personal development activities.

The TAR YDP serves the town itself but also accepts referrals from other areas of the Tipperary Garda District such as Dundrum, Emly, Bansha and Cappawhite.

It is the only YDP operated by Tipperary Regional Youth Service and is one of 30 YDPs under the wider Youth Work Ireland umbrella.

According to the Minister: “The YDP is about engaging with young people who are coming into contact with the criminal justice system and working with them to adjust their behaviour, to redirect them away from criminal activity or anti social behaviour and to be able to live a better life for themselves and for the community that they live in.

“It is not about being soft on crime. It is about how we make our communities as safe as possible. That means having less victims, and to have less victims it means targeting young people who are getting into the world of criminal activity or anti-social behaviour and redirecting them and helping them to see that there is a better way.”

“Very often these young people are coming from very traumatic backgrounds. They have experienced a lot of trauma in their lives and very often they may have undiagnosed issues themselves, so it’s all about helping those young people to have a better life,” he said.

The Minister added: “We know it’s been very effective. We have a research project in UL and we have the empirical evidence to show that what we are doing is very effective in terms of dealing with young people.

“It is redirecting them away from criminal behaviour both in reducing the amount of people that need help in the first instance but also with those young people we can see that the level of re-offending has fallen very, very significantly among young people who are getting involved in criminal behaviour or anti-social behaviour.

“Also talking to Youth Diversion Project staff in every town across the country they will tell you as well that their work is having a real effect in redirecting young people away from criminal activity and into very positive lifestyle choices.”

FUNDING

Recently TAR received an allocation of €108,635 for 2022 for two FTE Youth Justice Workers which contribute immensely to the work being done by existing staff.

I asked the Minister about the level of funding for projects nationwide.

“We have seen significant increases in funding over the last couple of years. This year there was an increase of €2.5 million across the country and last year it was €6.7 million, so that is a very big increase on previous funding for Youth Diversion Projects. That’s allowing us to ensure that the entire country geographically is covered so that every young person can get the help that they need but also to support additional youth workers, early intervention workers and family support workers.

“We increased the funding here in Tipperary and hopefully we will be in a situation to increase funding next year. They have a very good centre here in Tipperary Town where young people can walk in, in a relaxed atmosphere. What they have here as well which is very important is all the different state agencies working really close together.

“While Youth Diversion Projects are part of the justice system under myself, you have the UBU under Minister Roderic O’Gorman, you have TUSLA, you have school completion under Department of Education and you have Higher Education and apprenticeships, and most importantly the Garda Síochána who do fantastic work and are critical to the Youth Diversion project.

“The gardaí have really bought into the Youth Diversion Projects and they believe that it is effective in reducing crime in local areas. I think Tipperary Town, the Youth Diversion Project and all the agencies here are a prime example of how that can really work and is a real model of agencies working together,” said the Minister.

IMPORTANCE TO TIPPERARY TOWN

I asked the Minister how important a project like this was to the town.

“A project like this is hugely important in a town like Tipperary. We know that socio-economic challenges and deprivation have a huge impact on communities, so we have to tackle that root cause. So that is why we have seen an increase in the number of schools that have gotten DEIS status and that will help. We have also seen a roll out of school meals. Keeping young people in school is critical.

OUR PRISONS ARE FULL

“Our prisons are full of people who left school early, or have mental health challenges. We are not soft on crime. If you commit a serious crime you need to be punished for that, but what we have to do is try and address why people end up committing criminal acts in the first place. If we can address prevention and we can get in with early intervention that is far better than having to punish somebody,” the Minister said.

Tipperary Youth Diversion Project works in partnership with the Irish Youth Justice Service and is also co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.

Youth Justice Workers work on a one-to-one basis and/or group work delivering various programmes such as Anger Management, Sexual Health and Drug and Alcohol Awareness and support young people (12-17 years) in their personal, civic and social development.

Claire Turner is the Lead Youth Worker/Youth Justice Worker on the project and she outlined the key aims.

“The project’s key aim is to create positive relationships, where they feel safe and secure and know that the environment that we provide is one in which they always feel welcome. Know that if they need support that it will be provided, in so far as possible, and in cases where this is not possible that every effort is made to attain the support that they need.

“The project would not be possible without the ongoing support from An Garda Síochána, our Juvenile Liaison Officer, Local Resource Centres, local schools and school completion, Community-based Drugs Project and of course the amazing young people that we work with on a daily basis, all of whom make our jobs so much easier and enjoyable.

“Through the work that we do with young people we hope to encourage a greater understanding or one’s self, sustain their educational placement, encourage improved use of their recreational time and improve their confidence and self-esteem,” said Claire.