Jigsaw Donegal – new youth mental health service for Donegal’s young people opens.

Jigsaw Donegal was officially opened on Friday, 19th April. The Jigsaw service provides a safe and confidential space where young people can access a wide range of mental health supports for free and is located at Pearse Road, Letterkenny (across from the community centre). The Jigsaw service works with young people aged from 15-25. Jigsaw’s main aim is to enable young people to access the most appropriate services in as seamless a way as possible, whatever their level of need. The Jigsaw Programme was designed by Headstrong and its panel of youth advisors and is an evidence based, integrated service, designed to strengthen a community’s capacity to support young people’s mental health. It works on a partnership model of pulling together and aligning all existing resources and expertise in any given community. Speaking at the opening of Jigsaw Donegal, Mr John Hayes, Area Manager, with the HSE said “We are on the verge of changing how services are delivered to support young people’s mental health. 75% of mental health difficulties arise before the age of 24. (Kessler et al)”. And he added “this is a critical period in their development, if we can identify issues as they emerge then research tells us that early and brief intervention prevents people from experiencing lifetimes of pain and lost opportunities. Jigsaw is a resource that every community needs but not every community gets.” “In difficult times we need to innovate and come forward with novel and effective solutions. Jigsaw complements the work we are doing in developing Community Based Mental Health Teams and new facilities. By joining up with the existing local resources we can create clear pathways for young people,” John Hayes of HSE said. “We are re-configuring services to make them more accessible and youth friendly. Jigsaw clearly demonstrates that it is possible to reduce stigma, remove barriers and design a service that works for young people. We listen carefully to their ideas and feedback so that we can provide a better more effective service”, he concluded