A new website specifically geared at young people in Galway was launched yesterday (Wednesday ) by the HSE’s Gaf Health Advice Café.
The website www.thegaf.ie which was designed in partnership with students from NUIG and the Gaf’s staff and youth council, contains information about the cafe, its services, forthcoming events for young people, helpline numbers and links to other youth-related sites, such as Headstrong and Spunout.
Frances Ford, manager of the GAF, says the website is a way of providing touch-key information to its target audience of young people aged between 14 and 25 years.
“We couldn’t have brought the website to this point without the help of Pat Byrne and her students from the IT Department at NUIG. The students worked closely with the staff and youth council in designing and constructing the website between January and April of this year.”
Members of the Gaf’s Youth Council will update the site on a regular basis so the information is kept fresh.
The HSE’s Gaf Health Advice Café, whihc was set up in 2001 and which is based at 14 Francis Street, Galway, works in partnership with young people locally to help them develop good health and wellbeing, in a drug and alcohol free environment. More than 300 young people use its services weekly. This includes an out-of-hours service, incorporating evenings and weekends.
The cafe particularly targets young people at risk. In addition to the drop-in service, the interventions offered include issue-focused group work (eg, drug information and education, sexual health and anti- racism ), personal development group work (yoga, photography, drama, soccer ) and one-to-one support.
For further information telephone (091 ) 535370 or (087 ) 6657574 or e-mail [email protected]
