Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne, has launched a number of new facilities at the HAY Youth Diversion Project (YDP) in the North East Inner City, including a technology hub, an Early Intervention Space and a designated ‘Family Room’.

The HAY YDP serves Summerhill, Ballybough, Gardiner Street, Mountjoy Square, Portland Row and Place, North Strand and the surrounding areas. They work to divert young people, mainly aged 12-18, from becoming involved in crime or anti-social behaviour but also offer early intervention for younger children and after care support for young people transitioning into adult services.

The HAY Foróige Digital Youth Hub, which Minister Browne opened is co-funded by the Department of Justice and North East Inner City (NEIC) initiative. It will offer young people in the local area multimedia and technology training programmes that will equip them with valuable digital skills that will help them to increase their employability when they enter the world of work.

Attending the launch, Minister Browne said, “the HAY YDP are changing young people’s lives in the North Inner City. I am delighted to be here today to visit and officially open new facilities for the organisation, including a technology hub which will help young people to build tangible digital skills that will support them in education and in the workplace as they go out into our increasingly digital world.”

“The early intervention space will also be a great new asset to the HAY YDP facilitating more early intervention work. This means working with children as young as 8 before they become involved in criminality or anti-social behaviour, perhaps if it is known they are at risk because older family members are involved in anti-social behaviour or crime or because of their personal circumstances. Early intervention is a vital component of effective youth diversion, and a big part of our Youth Justice Strategy.”

“Equally, the family room will allow the HAY to work with parents and their children to address circumstances and behaviours affecting the family, and to facilitate personal development and to encourage civic responsibility.”

The HAY YDP project, which is managed by Foróige, has expanded significantly in recent years, enabling the reach of the project to be far wider and to align with the priorities of the Youth Justice Strategy.

At the launch, Minister Browne was also delighted to announce a once-off grant of €82,000 for the HAY YDP to purchase a new eight-seater vehicle. The dedicated vehicle will allow the project to develop more opportunities for intensive early intervention work with the young people of Dublin’s North East Inner city.

Minister Browne added, “on a really practical level, a minibus or a vehicle are invaluable assets for youth diversion projects because it facilitates pick ups and drop offs which can sometimes be the difference of getting a young person to attend or not, and journeys out of or around the city to do day trips, health and fitness activities and outdoor pursuits, all of which are excellent for the personal development of the young people involved, but also just really important for a bit of fun and a break.”

“I’m delighted to announce once off funding of €82,000 for the HAY YDP for the purchase of a new eight-seater vehicle, which I know will be used to develop more positive opportunities for their work with young people in the area.”