Réidh: Revitalising Youth Employment

Réidh is a new and exciting programme, launching this year at YMCA Dublin. It has emerged to meet the growing needs of young people who are facing unemployment and under-employment in Dublin. 

This programme functions to uplift young adults who come from disadvantaged areas, and provide them with a skill bank, relevant learning, experience, and self-confidence. It will empower participants through practical training and qualification acquisition, mentoring, project based learning, and partnerships with local companies and organisations.

The identified group for Réidh is young people aged 18-30 who are unemployed or employed in precarious positions, and who have left formal education with few or no qualifications.

Our Outreach and YouthSpaces programmes have seen a growing need amongst young adults who are finding it difficult to find and maintain decent employment, and be engaged with their communities. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to belong to healthy, confident, secure, and connected communities.

Réidh is working with the support of JPMorgan Chase and LinkedIn to meet the needs of young people in our community.

Alternative Suspension

Alternative Suspension (AS) launched in September 2021 at YMCA Dublin. Now, 6 months on, we reflect on what has been achieved, learned, and impacted.

We  have established partnerships with schools in D2, 6W, 8, 9, and 12, and we continue to expand our reach.

The need for an intervention such as AS is clear from the positive outcomes in young people, their families, and schools already evident after 6 months. For more information, contact programme coordinator Susie.

Susie highlights three areas AS has developed to be a bespoke intervention for our Irish and Dublin context, meeting the real needs apparent in our schools and communities.

1 – In the other countries, AS works with secondary schools only. Based on the areas of need we see, we have established a number of strong partnerships with primary schools as well as secondary schools. Students in 5th and 6th class are eligible to join , and we also run in-school workshops. Earlier intervention opportunities allow greater impact, and young people have more opportunities to fully reintegrate with school life at an earlier age. 

2 – AS in Dublin is structured as a preventative measure rather than a reactionary service. Rather than only accepting students after a suspension event, we will take referrals from students who are at-risk of suspension, or struggling with behaviour and schoolwork. Earlier interventions, without trigger events, keeps cohesion in the school community, and respects the dignity of the student and their peers. It also defines AS as a constructive and youth-led intervention, rather than a punishment.

3 – For students who find the programme environment to be beneficial (small staff:student ratio, low stimulus environment, behavioural support) there is an opportunity for them to attend sessions one day per week for a fixed term. This ensures the durability of positive outcomes, as the young person receives positive support consistently over a period of time, rather than as a once-off intervention with a hard end.

Outreach