A youth centre in Enniskillen has been helping young people deal with rising mental health and anxiety issues in Co Fermanagh throughout the pandemic.
The Find Centre on East Bridge Street in the town is a Youth Engagement Service providing support and services to those aged between 11 and 25 years old.
The centre comprises two different strands, according to Senior Youth Worker Stacey Lindsay.
“What we do is work with young people between the ages of 11 and 25. Some people know us as The Hangout and some people know us as the Find Centre,” Stacey told MyFermanagh.
“The Hangout is the more social side of things where after school we have pool tables, air hockey and we offer a safe space for young people to come in and chill out with their friends.
“Then there’s the other side were the Find Centre comes in, where we help young people deal with personal issues and be the intermediate if they are not sure what is going on.
“We can chat with them about it and listen to them and then refer on to whatever agency we think is most appropriate.
“We would get a lot of referrals from the likes of GPs who aren’t sure where else to send them.
“We can then source them the right help that they need.”
Stacey added there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of young people coming forward to the centre with a variety of issues, including issues related to anxiety and sexuality.
“Recently there has been a lot of anxiety coming out of the Covid situation, with young people going back to school and getting back into routine.
“We’ve also had a lot of people recently who have come in who are identifying as LGBT or trans, and that seems to be something which is an issue at the moment.
“A lot of the young people who have come forward to us, their parents are not accepting of it or don’t acknowledge it.
“A few people have come to us and said this is what’s going on, and because we’ve noticed such a massive influx we have set up a support group to help deal with this.”
The Senior Youth Worker added Find performs a vital service to those in the 11-17 year old age bracket in Co Fermanagh, as there is a lack of local counsellors for this group.
Find has also set up a Saturday social group for those with autism in the local area.
Stacey continued: “There is no direct local counselling service that is paid for at that age, which is something we struggle with as staff.
“It’s such a major developmental age, when you’re 11 you are changing schools, going through puberty and other issues which may cause anxiety.
“Although we are not counsellors ourselves we have got counselling training, and we can refer them on to somewhere else.
“With the issue of waiting lists at the minute, that’s where the young people could come back to us and if there is something going on and they just want to chat about it.
“Staff are always here and on hand, so if a young person just comes in off the street and something was going on, a member of staff would make themselves available for them.”
