What is it?

The youth mental health signposting tool aims to provide young people, parents, caregivers, and those working with young people, with reliable up to date information on where to access supports and services at both a local and national level for a variety of mental health issues.

To use it, simply select the issue affecting your mental health or the mental health of the young person you are supporting and the area in which you live.

Services

You can narrow your search by choosing a region, a service offered, or both.

Youth Work Ireland Louth

Endevour to alleviate disadvantage and social exclusion by highlighting the needs specific to those most at risk in these areas. Aims to support the young people of Louth through social interaction, engagement and signposting and providing clear pathways to main stream services and services such as youth clubs and detached youth work.

Youth Work Ireland North Connaught

Affiliated to Youth Work Ireland, YWINC is a regional youth service provider covering Sligo, Leitrim and Mayo. It aims to support the development of young people, to enable them to take greater control of their own lives by making decisions and exercising responsibility and contributing to the development of both their community and their society. It runs a number of projects in Mayo including the North Mayo Youth Project and Youth Action projects in Castlebar and Ballina.

Youth Work Ireland North Connaught

Youth Work Ireland North Connaught is a regional youth service covering Sligo, Leitrim and Mayo and they run the Leitrim Youth Project, which is a ‘Your Place Your Space’ (UBU) project based in Drumshanbo. The project works with young people aged 10–24 years across the county. A range of approaches are used to support the development and well-being of young people. Youth clubs/cafés and projects in County Leitrim offer a menu of ever-growing activities driven by the members’ interests and needs. This menu might include many different activities under the headings of sports, culture, recreation, arts, personal development, education and trips and exchanges.

Youth Work Ireland Tipperary

Engaging young people in social and personal development issues. Addressing family/relationship issues, education, substance misuse, offending behaviour, and health. Targeting young people aged 10-24. Various locations around Tipperary- Thurles, Templemore, Cashel, Killenaule/Fethard

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Nationwide Services

Exchange House Ireland- National Travellers Service

Exchange House Ireland National Travellers service is a leading provider of front-line support services to Travellers, many of whom are marginalised. Exchange House is a large provider of youth services to the Traveller Community in the greater Dublin area.
Among the supports and services on offer are onsite activities and programmes including Arts, leadership, anti-bullying, and educational opportunities. The organisation also provides detached youth work. Family support programmes are available.
In addition, Exchange House provides the National Traveller Mental Health Service, which provides a counselling service for travellers to help them deal with the issues affecting them. This service provides counselling to those 18 years and older.

FirstLight

FirstLight offers free professional support and provides information to families in Ireland that have experienced the sudden, unexpected death of their child if aged from 0 to 18 years. They provide support to all family members who have lost a child (up to 12 years of age) in a number of ways including
(1) Crisis Intervention- by providing support around the time of death (call their crisis line – 087 2423777)
(2) Free Counselling through their list of counsellors around the country
(3) Family weekends
(4) Phone support
(5)Children’s groups and more.

Fóroige

Fóroige is a national Youth Organisation that has Youth Projects and Youth Clubs all over Ireland. Fóroige aims to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society. Fóroige offers a wide range of development programmes for young people, details of which can be found on their website. Foróige groups and clubs operate Nationwide, to view a map of services in your area, go to: https://www.foroige.ie/foroige-map

GROW Mental Health Ireland

Find out about the many GROW meetings across the country on their INFOLINE @ 0818 474 474 and website @ https://grow.ie/join-a-support-group/. The purpose of the meetings is to support people who have or had a mental health illness. Some youth-specific groups take place for people aged 18-30 years. There is also the option to join online support meetings. Check the website for more information.

HSE – Mental Health

This website aims to improve awareness and understanding of mental health and well-being in Ireland. You will find tips for minding your mental health and supporting others. The website is also useful to help you search for supports in your local area. It also gives you information about what to do when someone tells you they are suicidal or self-harming.

I Fight Depression

The iFightDepression tool is a multilingual internet-based guided self-management tool for individuals with mild to moderate depression. The iFightDepression website promotes greater knowledge of and awareness of depression with the aim of increasing recognition of depression and decreasing the associated stigma.

Inclusion Ireland

Inclusion Ireland is the National is the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability.
They work towards the full inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities by supporting people to have their voices heard and advocating for rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. They also run a number of programme and have a variety of resources available on their website.

Involve

Involve delivers a wide range of programmes for young Travellers through their six centres across Ireland; details of the centres can be found on the Youth Services section of their website. Mental health promotion work is woven through these programmes; one example is the No Shame Mental Health Project

Irish Wheelchair Association

The Irish Wheelchair Association provides a wide range of services for people with physical disabilities. They have a young adult sevice designed to support young adults with physical disabilities to pursue their goals and build confidence. They offer life skills training to young adults in Clontarf, Kilkenny and Wexford.

Nationwide Results

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The development of the YMHS tool

In 2015, the NYHP recognised the need to capture the voice of the sector in more depth through a rapid mental health needs assessment. One of the key findings from the Mental Health Needs Assessment was the need to support organisations, practitioners, and young people to access appropriate services. The Youth Mental Health Signposting tool was developed in response to this need.

The tool was revamped in 2024 to meet the emerging needs being communicated to the NYHP by Youth Workers and other professionals through consultation and engagement in the programme’s training and workshops.

We endeavour to keep this tool up to date. However, we are aware that new services and initiatives are being developed and launched all the time.

If you have a new service or an existing one not currently on the tool that you believe should be included, please add your information below.

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Many thanks

The National Youth Health Programme would like to acknowledge the time, input and resources provided by a range of organsiations which contributed to the development of Youth Mental Health Signposting tool.

Disclaimer

The content of Youth Mental Health Signposting is provided for information purposes only. The National Youth Council of Ireland is not responsible for any interaction or outcomes between a client and a service provider listed. The NYCI does not endorse any professional or programme included in it map.