By Paul McElwee
THE Donegal branch of youth mental health charity Jigsaw has seen an increase in contact, according to its service manager.
Damien Coyle, said there has been a 4.5 per cent rise in contact for its services.
The news comes as the charities’ annual report for 2023 records a seven per cent surge in young people accessing the service, which CEO Dr Joseph Duffy labelled ‘its most challenging year’.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Mr Coyle said: “We did see an obvious increase in service during the pandemic, which is understandable but we’ve been pretty consistent in the last couple of years in terms of our footfall.
“We haven’t seen the kind of surge nationally but, having looked at the figures, I would estimate it at a 4.5 per cent increase across the board on all the services we provide, represented by just under six hundred people coming through our doors, which shows that there continues to be a demand from young people throughout Donegal.”
Speaking at the launch of the report, Dr Duffy talked about increased complexity, funding and staffing challenges yet says the report tells ‘a story of progress’, saying: “The impact of our work over the last 12 months is only made possible through the tireless work of our teams across the country; teams who have remained committed to helping thousands of young people and their families as they navigate increasingly complex mental health challenges.”
Mr Coyle wouldn’t be drawn on specifics when asked the reasons for the increase in contact for support, but the report highlights that over 16,000 people attended mental health workshops and training courses and almost half a million people accessed online supports through jigsaw.ie.
The report points out that the primary issues faced by young people included anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem and isolation, the latter a common by-product of the pandemic.
Sixty-two of these young people (aged 17-25) reported experiencing moderate to severe distress levels at their first session, while among 12-16 year-olds, 64 per cent reported experiencing distress within the clinical range at first session.
Dr Duffy spoke of a need for increased government funding to be allocated in Budget 2025 for the fourteen services areas in which Jigsaw operates across the country.
“We will continue to advocate for increased funding in the face of surging demand. The past year has highlighted, once again, that when adequately resourced, early interventionists mental health services like Jigsaw, can be highly effective. We have plans in place for service expansion, wait times reduction strategies, ongoing evolution of how our services are delivered, growth in breadth and depth of our work with communities, schools, online and more. Budget 2025 is the opportunity to invest in these plans.”
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