Sligo Leitrim Home Youth Liaison Service

HYLS

Everybody deserves a chance

HYLS Officers Youth Support Traveller Worker Programmes

 

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Sligo Leitrim Home Youth Liaison Service

The service is at present working in 26 schools. Each of these schools is visited on a weekly basis to work on to one to one with students and also group work. For a list of schools see the end of this page.

The Service is available to help all parents and young people when need arises in other primary and post primary schools in the North West Region.

Should the need arise, one of the Home Youth Liaison Officers will also make themselves available for emergency cases in other schools not directly affiliated with the service e.g. the Home Youth Liaison Service has previously acted as a support service to all the post-primary schools in North Leitrim and one school in south Leitrim.


Our Focus

Identify education issues or concerns for young people and their families, and link with the appropriate support services.

Identify welfare issues or concerns for young people and their families and to liaise and refer on to the appropriate support services.

Provide, where necessary and appropriate, a follow up service with the family and supporting service.

Provide, where possible a one-to-one support for young people referred.

Provide peer support for young people in group work situations, within and outside of the school, where appropriate.

 Facilitate the transition from primary to post primary school.

 Develop programmes, where possible to cater for specific individual or group needs.

 Enable and encourage young people to develop for themselves the knowledge, skills and personal qualities to facilitate their own development and future potential.


In order for us to achieve our goals and objectives we have divided our work into a number of categories including:

Individual Work

Group Work

Residential Work

One-to One Tuition

Educational Training

Interagency Networking

Individual Work

Young people are referred to the HYLS by variety of people and services; including schools, HSE (Social Work, Psychology and Psychiatric services) Social Services, Probation & Welfare, Education & Welfare, GP's, Gardaí, Training Agencies (VEC, FÁS), other Voluntary and Youth Groups, parents and self-referrals.

The Home Youth Liaison Officer meets with the referred young people on an individual basis in schools, home and training centres.

The nature of the work is dependant on the individual needs of the young person, examples of which include:

Anger-management, self-esteem, relationships and sexuality, friendships, bullying, organisational and study skills, supporting the young person's educational needs, counselling, communication skills, drug and alcohol awareness, bereavement and separation, depression, poor self-image, crime and anti- social behaviour, listening to and advising the young person on some of the emotional needs they may be experiencing.

The Home Youth Liaison Officer will then if necessary make referrals to other agencies depending on the issue or need in question. Some of the agencies that the HYLS makes referrals to include:

      Social Work                                                    

      FÁS

      Psychology

      Education & Welfare Board

      Addiction Services

      Social Services

      GP

      Voluntary and Community Groups in the Sligo and Leitrim area (e.g. Foróige, Family Resource Centres, North Connaght Youth Service, other Homework Clubs and Youth Groups in the area).

Group Work

On a regular basis the HYLS involves a limited number of young people in after-school programmes designed and delivered by HYLO. These issue-based after-school programmes are specifically designed to address the needs of many of the young people referred to our service. After- school groups delivered in the past have included:

Young Women's Health, Environmental Care and Awareness, Anti-racism and Cultural Awareness, Heath and Fitness, Woodwork, Pottery, Art Workshops, Healthy Eating.

Residential Work

Weekend Trips & Summer Residential Programme

In collaboration with the HSE Social Work Department the HYLS organises and delivers short-term residential breaks for referred young people.

Both of the above breaks are undertaken with a small group of young people, which allows positive relations to develop between the HYLO and the young person. These breaks give the young people an opportunity to enjoy themselves in a supervised safe environment through participation in fun age-appropriate activities. These breaks also provide respite for families in need.

One-to-One Tuition

A home tuition service is available in the HYLS to young people who are temporarily out of school for various reasons. The Education and Welfare Board refer young people to this service. A maximum of nine hours per week one-to-one tuition is supplied by part-time teachers in the offices of the HYLS.

Educational Training

The HYLS delivers a wide variety of Educational Training Programmes in the majority of primary and post-primary schools in the Sligo area and surrounds. These programmes include:

  • Transition Programme- Designed to ensure that young people successfully transfer from primary to post- primary school.
  • Anti- Bullying Workshops- Addressing and highlighting the different types of bullying, looking at the impacts and discussing ways of dealing with the issue.
  • RSE Programme- Discussing the changes young people may experience when they reach puberty/ adolescence.
  • Mentoring Programme- Training senior students on ways to support first years entering into the school.
  • Student Council Training- Training students on ways to take an active role in the running of their school.
  • Parental Information Evenings- These questions and answer sessions are organised by members of the boards of management of various schools according to identified needs of parents.

Inter-agency Networking

The HYLS establishes and maintains links with all relevant agencies involved with the referred young person and their families. The purpose of this inter-agency work is three-fold:

Co-ordination of service provision, avoidance of duplication or overlap with other childcare / youth services, onward referral of individuals to appropriate services.

 

When referrals are made to the Home Youth Liaison Service, the following are normally the presenting problems:

  • poor attendance
  • poor behaviour in class or home
  • possible fear about drug use
  • parents feel that they have lost control
  • concern of school or others concerning family situation
  • isolation

Having cone into contact with the service, the client or their families involved will have:

  • received individual support and counselling building trust and respect for each other
  • developed communication and social skills which helps them to take a more positive role in their community
  • understanding of the importance of receiving an adequate level of education training and certification
  • knowledge of the educational and training opportunities available to them

List of Schools

Achonry N.S.

Ballinode College

Ballymote N.S.

Banada N.S.

Carraroe N.S.

Castlerock N.S.

Colaiste Muire, Ballymote

Coola School

Curry N.S.

Drimina N.S.

Holy Family N.S. Tubbercurry

Mary Immaculate Girls School, Collooney

Mercy College

Moylough N.S.

Our Lady of Mercy Primary School

Scoil Ursula

Scoil Mhuire gan Smàl, Ballymote

Sligo School Project

St Edwards N.S.

St Brendan’s National School

St John’s Primary School

St Mary’s Ballisodare

St Michael’s N.S. Cloonacool

St Paul’s N.S. Collooney

Summerhill College

Ursuline College



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