An Taoiseach Enda Kenny has welcomed news of the sale, facilitated by Mayo County Council, of the old post office in Mountain View to the Castlebar Community Development Association (CCDA ). The building will now be used as a youth centre from which Foróige and the Mayo Youth Mental Health Initiative (MYMHI ) will offer a wide and varied range of services to the town.
Foróige services operating from the new site will include the Castlebar Neighbourhood Youth Project (NYP ), a partnership between the HSE and Foróige providing support for young people experiencing personal, social, or educational difficulties, and the Big Brother Big Sister Community and Schools Mentorship Programmes. HSE support service The Edge will also be based in the new premises and it is hoped that a youth café will be established there. Foróige has almost 3,000 members in 55 clubs across Mayo.
MYMHI will support young people between the ages of 15 and 25 from the new base, providing access to friendly, integrated, mental health supports as needed by the young people of the area. A strong focus will also be placed on building the general mental health and wellbeing literacy of young people.
An Taoiseach said: “This is great news for the young people of Castlebar and the surrounding areas and I am also delighted to see one of our town's most iconic buildings being utilised in this way.
“The range of services that will be provided by Foróige and MYMHI is incredibly broad and will offer great benefits to our young people, supporting, assisting, and encouraging them in so many different ways. I am particularly delighted that the promotion of mental health awareness is set to be very central there.
“I expect that the new centre will prove to be an excellent asset to our town and commend Cllr Ger Deere for his strong efforts over the years in helping to bring such a centre to fruition.”
