Introducing LIBERATE Our New Youth Work Programme

We are very excited to tell you about our new LIBERATE Youth Work team.

The area in which we’re based: South West inner City (The Liberties area) has had no mainstream youth project for a number of years.

At the beginning of 2021 a tender was put out for a New Youth Work Service and we were delighted to be chosen as the organisation to take this on.

Over August and September we recruited our new team of youth workers and a Programme Manager who were all in place by the beginning of October.

The name LIBERATE is our ultimate hope for our young people that through the youth work process they know the freedom of reaching their full potential. ‘Liberate’ is also a play on ‘the Liberties’, and ‘Dublin 8’: both communities we are embedded in.

LIBERATE supports 10 – 24 year olds. Our broader reach allows us to fill some of the gaps between our other referral based programmes.

We hit the ground running at the end of October 2021. No better time to connect with young people than during their week off school. Our activities included a soccer camp, 2 Halloween themed day trips, outreach work and joining in with Dublin City Council’s funded Halloween night events in two locations. We also took a group of young people on our first ever 2 night residential to The Cavan Centre. The young people had a blast and we've already booked to go back!

Outreach has been a key part of the team’s work to date. There’s been a tangible presence of Solas Project staff with our new branded coats and hoodies around the streets of Dublin 8. We have invested in bikes to help us reach across this wide geographical area.

We’ve meaningfully engaged with 85 young people in the last month and a half since we started.

In addition to the new drop in services, mentoring, one to one work, group work and a young parent and little one’s programme, the Liberate staff have been kept busy renovating our premises to make them more welcoming and youth friendly spaces. 

This dedicated team will cover the Christmas period making themselves available to young people in the community. Fun Christmas activities and trips are planned.

Our official launch is on 21st February 2022 when we will be joined by Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.

Contact details for the team:

Programme Manager:

Leanne Lowry, leanne@solasproject.ie, 083 456 4634

Team members:

Jamin Keogh, jamin@solasproject.ie, 083 088 2602

Aoibhinn O’Donoghue, aoibhinn@solasproject.ie, 086 043 1792

Stephen Mullarkey, stephen@solasproject.ie, 087 973 3309

Gayle Cullen Doyle, gayle@solasproject.ie, 083 088 2605