Kilkenny Involvement Centre 2.88

The Involvement Centre, Kilkenny, is an initiative set up under the ARI umbrella, (Advancing Recovery Ireland). It is based at The Mews, on Collier's lane, just off High St., in Kilkenny. We have been up and running since November 2014. Our premises are owned by the HSE, and we are very grateful for their great support in this venture.
Our vision is to have a base where people who have, or have had, mental health difficulties, their families or friends, can drop in at specified times to meet other people who are on their recovery journey.
At the Involvement Centre, the name is self-explanatory. Involvement by everyone and that means everyone. It is not a “one-man show” – everyone is equal.
We are a volunteer led service; currently open on Saturdays from 11.00am – 2.00pm, and on Thursdays from 2.00pm – 4.00pm. Two volunteers are required each time the centre is open. To date, we have had the same pool of dedicated volunteers turning up, but we need more people to become involved as volunteers to remain viable. You can become involved in a number of ways; as a volunteer who commits to turning up for a specific time slot, once a week, once a month – whatever you can do. If you have a skill or an interest you would like to share, it would be a great addition. More importantly, you can just turn up and sit back for a while. The support you will receive here is peer support, there is no formal counselling on offer. So far, we have had Mindfulness sessions, help with computers and a walking group, and we have two volunteers who are in the process of setting up a creative writing group.
What will happen in the Involvement Centre will be determined by the group who show up. Initially it might just be turning up for a chat and a cup of tea/coffee. We hope that it would become a place where people can find out about other things that are going on around the city. We also plan to run workshops on various issues.
The philosophy is recovery focussed, we hope to create a positive environment, where people can support each other in an informal setting.
If you think you might be interested and want to find out more you can call 086 0473968 / 056 7712400 or e-mail involvementkk@gmail.com. We have a committee who are always open to suggestions.