Life in the Liberties after the Lockdown

We were happy to be back walking down Meath Street, Thomas Street and stopping for a coffee in Mannings Bakery along the way. When we first started easing out of Lockdown we spent time in the community connecting with the Young People of Solas Project and their families after such a strange number of months. We called to the door of some of the young people’s homes while we met others out on the streets.

It was great to see our Step Up young people again; to have time to talk about the challenges they had faced but also share moments of in person laughter, we had missed them! We adapted to all the new regulations and made great use of any outdoor spaces in the community. It was so nice returning to the Liberties after the lockdown, interacting with familiar faces and being part of the community again.

We welcomed back the young people from our After School Clubs to a Summer Program in mid-July. As the young people had been off since March, experienced a global pandemic and not had any structure in months, we had to take our time and support the young people that little bit more.  After the long months of lockdown, we wanted to make sure that the young people had the opportunity to take part in new activities and adventures. We spent a lot of time in nature; we zip lined, we kayaked, and we even tie dyed our own face masks!

Over the past few weeks with schools back up and running we are back to a bit more of our ‘normal’ structure (if anything is normal anymore!) All of our programmes are in full swing with a few tweaks and a some new protocols. However, the essence of our interactions with young people have stayed the same – prioritising our relationships and ensuring we are providing safe places for our young people. Yes, we have extra cleaning to do each day, we have to wear masks and keep our physical distance but we share laughter, learning and adventure daily!