Tag-Rugby Blitz 2022

We were very excited to be back in UCD for our annual Solas@School Tag-Rugby Blitz this year. The event which has run every year since 2011 has been really missed over the past 2 years. 2022’s event was another huge success!

With amazing weather, energetic young people and a vibrant atmosphere that’s hard to beat, we had the added bonus and excitement of this being our first year back up and running in schools and collaborating with our corporate supporters for Solas Sports since the lockdowns. 

In total we had 10 schools from across Dublin 7, 8 & 12 there on the day. Which meant there were over 400 children and 100 volunteers representing 10 global and local businesses with additional one off student volunteers alongside regular Solas Project volunteers, all supporting us on the day. 

“The atmosphere there was great; kids were happy, teachers were happy, and volunteers were happy. A fantastic day out for everyone.”  Corporate volunteer. 

It was incredible to see the teamwork, enthusiasm and positivity brought by each class, who all worked very hard with our Solas@School team to be ready for the event. 

Corporate volunteers enjoyed a morning away from the desk job and were blown away by the size and energy of the event. We got some great feedback from teachers, volunteers and all involved on the day:

“The kids of course made it and the team that I was working with really enjoyed it.”   

“Absolutely enjoyed the whole day, the kids had great craic. Loved cheering them on and running around the pitch” 

“Such a great event. Thanks for the tea and coffee also!”. 

“Great to see the kids enjoying themselves and doing really well at a sport that maybe they had not participated in much beforehand”  

A highlight of the day was for the kids was making their mark on their faces thanks to our fantastic face painters who worked tirelessly throughout the event making sure each young person went away happy. 

A big thank you to all who took part on the day, we’re already looking forward to next year!!

Volunteer Celebration 2022

We were so delighted to be able to have an in person Volunteer Celebration this year for the first time since 2019.

A massive thank you to our local hotel in the Liberties the Hyatt Centric for generously providing the space for us. We were treated on the night to a talk from Liberties local, Anthony, of In Our Shoes Walking Tours who gave us a taste of the tour he takes around the Liberties area. We had Eric, a young person who has been up through Step Up, share about his experience of having a volunteer mentor over the years. Eric, along with another young person Evan, worked the room gathering material for Eric’s podcast called ‘Absolute Waffle’. We had another very talented young person Darragh there taking photographs. One of our European Solidarity Corps volunteers, Sarah from France shared about her year with Solas Project. There was laughter and tears!

Our volunteers who have worked alongside us through the pandemic received a small token of our appreciation, beautifully crafted by the young people in The Yard.

After 2 years of not being able to get together in this way, it was all the more inspiring to witness so many volunteers in one room, to feel the positive energy, to connect volunteers spread across our various programmes. Volunteers who may even volunteer in the same programme but on a different day got a chance to meet each other. It was also great to have this opportunity to acknowledge those volunteers who work primarily on their own speciality, behind the scenes or remotely (e.g. volunteers mentoring volunteers!).

Most of all we just loved having this opportunity to publicly thank each of our amazing dedicated volunteers and express again the foundational role volunteers play in enabling us to work towards our vision.

‘When I look back to last summer I can’t believe how different my life is right now…’ European Solidarity Corps update nine months in!

Our European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteers have completed 9 months with Solas Project so far! It’s hard to believe they only have a few months left. We wanted to ask them a few questions to hear how the last 9 months have impacted their lives…

The ESC volunteers as the year went on became part of a larger group of international students and volunteers. It’s been great to see them bond as a team and support each other in the day to day teamwork required.

Ruth, ESC, Germany

Sometimes you don’t realise how much you grew and how much you changed until you look back. 

And when I look back to last summer I can’t believe how different my life is right now. 

Through the last 9 months I was able to build relationships with the young people in Solas Project based on trust and mutual understanding. I grew in my role in the After School Clubs. I found really good friends among the team I’m working with. I successfully lived on my own abroad. I improved my English. 

I got more confident in my own body. It wasn’t always easy and sometimes it still isn’t easy but I grew from the challenges. 

It is hard to pick a highlight about my time here so far. But if I had to choose, it would be the welcoming atmosphere at work. The feeling when you come to work and everybody is glad you are there. The staff, the other students and also the children (though they often don’t like to let on that they are). 

I’m looking forward to enjoy my last 3 months with Solas Project. I’m sure the summer project is going to be super fun and I’d make plans to explore Ireland even more.

Sarah, ESC, France:

I’m proud of the relationships that I’ve formed with the kids. It’s something that took effort and energy. Spending time discovering their personalities taught me how to be myself and to create a bond with them.

I’m also so happy that I’m way more confident with the language now, I used to be very hesitant thinking about what I wanted to say but now I’m comfortable.

The team has been so encouraging and was always pushing us to take initiatives. My leader was trusting me to suggest activities, to work directly with the kids and to manage challenging situations, it really gave me a boost of confidence. I feel free in my work because I know that my opinion matters in the team and that we rely on each other to make everything work.

I’m going to go home in August 2022 feeling more confident about my work, knowing that I’m able of handle situations and that even if it seems hard and stressful it’s getting better with time… One year ago there’s things I would have never been able to do or to manage, and today, with the time that I spend with the children and my co-workers it’s so much easier.

I’ve grown so much because of the independence I have gained and the trust that the Solas Project team gave us. This experience which was a huge challenge for me is now my everyday life and I’m so grateful for that.

Jana, ESC, Germany

Ireland is not all sheep and meadows — not that surprising since we work and live in the capital. But I wouldn’t have initially expected such a colourful mix of people and sceneries in Dublin alone.

In Solas Project, I am positively surprised by the open dynamic that can be seen throughout all different programmes: The entire staff including the CEO communicate with us the volunteers and the young people as equals.

One of the first significant things that made me feel good as a volunteer, was hearing the kids call my name when they were in need of help. I felt recognised. By now, when young people remember the smallest details I have mentioned weeks ago that shows me that I have an impact on their way of thinking and that I have to use it in the most positive way possible.

Volunteering here has confirmed my career plan of becoming a teacher. Showing and teaching the kids how I draw and paint, for example, never fails to make me happy.

Now that we’ve escaped the awfully cold winter, I am looking forward to my summer in Ireland. I am eager to see more of the Island. I am grateful that I will get to experience summer projects with the after schools club the bonus being adventuring to many fun places with the children.

As I think about my return to Germany, all the knowledge about a whole different culture will have changed my day to day views. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain my self-reliance at home having now lived on my own.

Actually, I really don’t want to think about going home yet. Time is flying over here and I still can not believe that nine months have passed. It’s going to be over way too soon! 

Targeted Response with Youth (TRY) joins Solas Project

Solas Project is pleased to announce the addition of the TRY (Targeted Response with Youth) Project to our organisation.

Targeted Response with Youth (TRY) is a peer - mentoring project based in Dublin's south inner city, which targets young people involved in or at risk of becoming involved in the drug economy and antisocial behaviour.

The TRY Project was started as part of the St. Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration in 2017, initially on a small pilot basis targeting a group of young men who were engaged in public drug dealing in the flats complex. The project was hosted by Donore Community Drug and Alcohol Team (DCDAT) and overseen by a volunteer steering group.  

In 2021, the geographical reach of TRY was expanded to include Oliver Bond and TRYs key funding was moved to the Department of Justice. This meant that TRY could no longer remain part of DCDAT. After exploring the possibility of becoming an independent entity, the TRY steering committee approached Solas Project to see if they we would assume the Governance remit of TRY under our organisational structure.

The young person centred approach of TRY fits well with the vision and values and Solas Project and we share the same ethos of never giving up on young people. The leadership of Solas Project saw the value the skills and specific skillset of the TRY team would bring to our organisation and most importantly to the young people in our community.

In February 2022, after a period of discussions and a formal transfer of undertakings process the three TRY employees joined Solas Project. TRY have come in as part of our larger Justice Team while retaining their unique identity.

We have developed a Joint Project Committee for the Rua and TRY programmes and are delighted to have some of the TRY steering group members join this group, alongside the Gardai and other experts in the field.

Our focus in now on re-establishing and developing the important work of TRY in both Donore Avenue and Oliver Bond. We look forward to the continued, and growing success of this programme.

Liberate Launch

Cause for celebration

The Liberate Launch on 21st February 2022, was a youth centred event and a much warranted celebration of our new full-time mainstream youth service in the Liberties! We’ve shared some extracts from those who participated including songs, poems and inspirational speeches below. As well as that there was food, dancing, karaoke and a lot of fun had!

“Do you know what’s really special about today? [Young people ask what?] What’s really really special about today is this is the first time in nearly 10 years that there has been a new youth project in Dublin city the first in 10 years, and it’s here and you’re part of it! [cheers]”

Christy Duffy, director of CDETB, City of Dublin Education and Training Board

Our guests at the launch included staff from local schools, local youth and community workers, politicians, local residents, community Gardaí, representatives from CDETB and CDYSB, our own team of staff and volunteers, and most important of all young people!

It was a pleasure to welcome Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O Gorman. The Liberate programme has come out of an extra 5million provided in the 2021 budget for this area of development. We were honoured to be able to showcase what the Liberate team of five staff plus volunteers and young people have accomplished thus far.

Liberate still in its formative stages already engages with approximately 100 young people through a variety of targeted groups, community outreach, drop-ins, one-on-ones and mentorships.

CHANGE makers

The Liberate Youth Work team at Solas Project operates under the shared vision, ethos and values of love; hope; joy and justice with a vision for the young people to realise their true potential.

Minister Roderic O’Gorman challenged young people to see themselves as change makers:

“See yourselves as people who are able to actually change your community, do something different, make something exciting happen.”

Christy Duffy, director of CDETB had a great rapport going with the young people and challenged them to use their voices for change with the help of the service provided by Liberate:

“It’s all about having a place and safe space for you the young people to find your voice… It’s about being able to use that voice here in the local community and in the whole of Ireland…. The key piece of that is actually using your voice to help one another, as you grow through the years.”

As well as creating the safe environment where critical conversations can take place, Liberate hopes to inspire young people to use their voices to influence change. Solas Project’s long term model engaging with a young person from childhood into adulthood allows for a greater impact over time.

Young people are encouraged to cultivate a sense of ownership in their life, their community and develop a sense of belief in themselves. One of the young people who has been a part of Step Up, Solas Project’s mentoring programme for the last 4 years spoke on the night about his growing confidence as a result of being part of the club, Eric demonstrated this increased confidence by standing in front of the crowd to share his experience:

“Hello everybody my name is Eric. I’m 18. I’ve been coming to club since 2nd year, and the club has basically given me a lot of confidence to like grow as a person even through lockdown I started doing a lot of stuff that I wouldn’t have necessarily had the confidence to do before. I started up doing a podcast. I took acting up again… Also talking to people was something I struggled to do but club really gave me the confidence to talk to people… But even just coming to club chatting to your mentor about how you feel or anything that’s going on during the week or if there’s anything at all that you want help with, they’re there to help you … at club you just relax, chill, learn new skills, talk to new people, try new experiences.”

PREMISES

Another young person Ellie, new to us since Liberate’s inception, wrote a poem for the Minister:

‘Minister, we are glad to see that we are finally free for this cup of tea. We never feared that we would meet this year, thank you for UBU, this group has just begun, we’re all having so much fun, and it’s well up and running, all because of your funds We are glad there’s something new to do, Liberate is really great, unfortunately we’re tight on space, we would really love a bigger place, somewhere that’s inclusive and is always safe’

Eddie D’Arcy, board member and former Solas Project CEO elaborated on Ellie’s request to the minister reiterating our imminent need and ongoing plea to secure a suitable premises in Dublin 8. He detailed our endless attempts to gain access to unused sites owned by public bodies or vulture funds in the area.

Addressing Minister O’Gorman directly, he listed the buildings in the area which would provide ideal spaces for Solas Project but have been lying empty for several years. He pointed out the disparity between youth services in the north inner city compared our part of the city which has the most Dublin corporation tenants of any other:

“If you walk from Gardiner street to the canal there’s 14 different youth projects all with their own premises.      

We have this vision of a youth village where we’d have… a performing arts centre and workshop and music space, and our youth café all within that. And it’s lying there and it’s empty. We just need somebody with a bit of mouth to say to the corpo stop selling off these resources. The community deserves them.

The Liberties hasn’t had a youth service in 10 years. And it’s a needy community. And it’s a great community. So I mean they’re getting a good package with Solas Project.”

Credit goes to

Our dedicated Liberate youth work programme manager and superhero, Leanne Lowry is responsible of much of the event's planning, smooth sailing, and success. Without Leanne and her team’s vision, determination, and dedication to all things youth work, none of this would have been possible.  

Liberate's young people were central to the success the launch. The event would not have been such a joyful success without their enthusiasm and energy. Although, it should be said that things did become heated at one point over who got to sing Maniac 2000! We resolved this problem where everyone got to sing their own rendition of it. Oggie Oggie Oggie… Oi! Oi! Oi!

We’ll leave you with these lyrics written and performed by young person Hannah, along with one of our Youth and Community work university students on guitar:

“Monday 21st and the ministers here, What do we do, get up and cheer, Let me tell you about what we do, Because its all brand new, Need somewhere to have the chats

Don't worry Gayle always has your back, And what is her motto here, YUP THE FLATS

Jamin is always bouncing with cheer, Stephen gets you involved with no fear, When it's cold Leanne brings us in, Makes us hot chocolate that’s a win! Aoibhinn is the creative gal Her and Gayle are great pals.

Emily helped me with this today, She’s got her own musical way, There is so much to achieve this year, Thank you all for being here… (Shout) DUBLIN 8 GIVE US A CHEER