Today VHI and the Irish Youth Foundation announced details of the nine projects awarded grants through the VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund.
Now in its fourth year, the VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund supports projects that are focused on strengthening resilience in young people and helping them to manage anxiety, with a particular focus on early intervention and prevention. Non-profit organisations which work with young people in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick were invited to apply for a share of the €90,000 fund this year.
The successful applicants this year included The Shona Project, an organisation dedicated to empowering young women across Ireland. The funding will be used to create an Anxiety Video Suite for their Shine Festival and will feature expert-led content focused on managing anxiety, with tools like breathwork for immediate relief. The resource will debut at Shine 2024, offering ongoing support to thousands of teenage girls across Ireland through the festival’s digital platform.
The Irish Refugee Council, which supports young people navigating the international protection process in Ireland, received funding for a new resilience project for asylum seekers aged 16-25. The project will include a monthly drop-in youth group, wellbeing workshops, and one-on-one support. The workshops will cover activities such as yoga, dance, arts, sport, and music to help young people manage anxiety and build resilience.
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In Cork, youth group Wellsprings, which focuses on creating supportive and homely residential care for young women, was also awarded a grant. Supported by VHI, Wellsprings will implement a staff engagement initiative to deepen understanding of trauma-informed practices. This initiative will merge training and group facilitation to enhance emotional resilience, impart safe coping strategies, and develop skills for recognising and addressing anxiety among residents.
Other grant recipients this year include Venture Out in Galway, Donegal Youth Services, Just Ask in Dublin, Aiséirí in Kilkenny, as well as Blue Box Creative Arts Therapy Centre and SMILE School Completion Project in Limerick.
Brian Walsh, Group CEO of VHI, said: “At VHI, we’re incredibly proud to continue our long-standing commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people across Ireland. This year, we’ve allocated funding to nine diverse youth projects across the country. The projects were chosen for their innovative ideas and approaches to addressing the needs of young people by empowering them to build resilience, manage their anxiety and ultimately lead to positive mental health outcomes.
“The VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund has proven to be a powerful force for change with positive feedback and tangible results from fund recipients over the last four years. We hope that the funding allocated this year will provide young people engaged in selected initiatives with an opportunity to enhance their overall wellbeing. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact that the projects supported this year will have on their communities.”
Lucy Masterson, CEO at Irish Youth Foundation, said: “We are immensely proud of the impact the VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund has had on young people in Ireland, and we were delighted to once again partner with VHI on this important initiative this year. The financial support provided by VHI will benefit a variety of organisations nationwide which provide vital supports to the most vulnerable young people in our society. We hope that the funding provided will not only have a positive effect on young people, but their peers and communities alike.”
For more information about the VHI Health & Wellbeing Fund visit iyf.ie