Galway Labour councillors Helen Ogbu and John McDonagh have called for more immediate counselling support for women in a city direct provision centre.
They recently visited women in one of the citywide direct provision centres, which houses 54 women. They found the women in this particular centre have been deeply affected by the recent deaths of two of their fellow residents, who passed away in separate, unrelated incidents.
Neither death took place in the centre, but the recent tragic loss of the two women has taken a huge emotional toll on the other residents, exacerbating in some cases pre-existing traumas of the women, many of whom fled violence and persecution to seek asylum in Ireland.
"The stresses of living under direct provision and how these stresses can further compound pre-existing psychological and emotional struggles have already been well documented. Residents have described sleepless nights, feelings of being caged, and mounting pressure from the system.
"Many balance night shifts, morning classes, and volunteering, leaving them physically and mentally drained. The centre’s manager has done her utmost to support the women and the Integration Officer for the centre is also helping where possible," said Cllr Ogbu. Galway City’s Integration Officer has assured Cllr Ogbu that efforts are being made to arrange therapeutic support for the residents in the New Year, but Cllr Ogbu believes that the residents need immediate grief counselling and mental health supports now, particularly in the period leading up to Christmas which can be a particularly difficult time for many residents in the direct provision centres.
"The model for urgent and immediate intervention in times of particular or acute stress for a group already exists in other areas, for example in the education system, where counselling supports are rapidly and effectively provided in schools at times when urgent intervention is felt necessary," she added.
Councillors Ogbu and McDonagh, along with fellow Labour Councillor Niall McNelis urge both the HSE and the Department of Integration to prioritise urgent, immediate grief counselling and mental health support for the women in the centre and to make every effort to reach out to professional counsellors who could, at short notice, provide the very necessary supports the women need at this time.
Apart from the need for urgent intervention in the case of the above centre, Cllr Ogbu says that we must take into account the mental health needs of all those seeking asylum and international protection in Ireland. Their lives are already marked by immense loss, trauma, and the stress of living in limbo under the direct provision system.
