The people you go to school with whether your good friends or you just pass each other in the corridor, you remember these people long past you’re leaving cert year. If you went to a small school like me that is very true. Your school days always stay with you the good days and the bad days.

Young people spend more years in schools then there parents did. So it’s not surprising that school goers go through a lot more together now. As you spend longer in school so you’re older when you leave. Unfortunately we also go through a lot of things our parents never went through or were protected against. I’m not saying they had it easier just trying to point out that we have different things to deal with.

I have often spoke with my parents about what school was like for them. We spoke today about how the 6^th young person under 21 in my town died in a horrible car accident. Five of them were in my school with a population of only 120 students that is an alarming rate. My dad explained how he only ever had one school friend die under the age of 23. I’ve had to attend 5 so far. That is 5 too many in my opinion. Im sure I’m not the only one whose had to do this but it’s worrying that it’s becoming more common.

All six young people died in different horrible accidents 2 suicides, one from a medical condition and 3 in car accidents. Unfortunately their deaths have had a huge ripple effect on the young people in the town, with very little support for the young people of the town.

When you have to hold a teenage lad crying his eyes out you know there is something really wrong. Yet there’s nothing you can do but be there with arms open to give them a shoulder to cry on. Mental health services are very hard to access as they are but I heard the other day that theHSEare cutting the budget in the mental health services this is an outrage as we are living in very hard times. And now more then ever we need support.

I believe more money should be put into promoting positive mental and mental health initiatives for projects like Headstrong’s Jigsaw, which has been proven to help. Unfortunately there is not a jigsaw in every county yet but I think thee services need more support to try and get one in every county.

By Lee Campbell

Ninth President of Ireland Michael D Higgins promises presidential seminars on key issues such as seminars with youth. But were these just election campaign promises? , During the presidential campaign a couple of us from Voices of Youth went to the Barnardos Presidential Debate. There was a lot of talk about different issues effecting youth such as mental health or the purposed referendum on Children’s Rights but there was no talk of how he or the other presidential candidates would highlight young peoples voices on these issues through there high profile role as President .

So I decided to ask this question and this is when they came out with suggestions such as youth seminars but were these again just tokenistic answers? After the deabate Michael D Higgins the now President of Ireland came up to me and he was very engaging about how to highlight young people voices through these forums.

So maybe this was more than just tokenism, We would like to see these youth seminars be followed through and have young people voices highlighted through The Office Of President.

Doom & Glum

By Tanya W.

It is scary how young people view the world today. They see there parents struggling to pay bills more and more families are living in consistent poverty. Young people are really feeling the pinch of the recession.

If your between 16-18 your more than likely looking at leaving Ireland to go in search of college or work. Leaving behind your whole life friends family and community yet not wanting to but seeing this as the only option you have.

Speaking to friends and hearing them going on about the siblings going half way around the world in search on jobs. With many of them doing it as most of their friends have gone and  is less and less to keep them here the government are hitting them from every angle. Services are being cut social has been drop to ridiculous rates and people just can’t afford to live an average life here.

Young people who are in secondary school have the fear of asking their parents to go on the school trip’s. I even know of someone who got in trouble with the school for not going on a trip as it was compulsory, yet when brought to parents attention they didn’t know about it and the child explained he hadn’t told them as he knew they couldn’t afford for him to go so he didn’t ask. im sure this is happening all across the country. Which is frightening.

According to statistics I come across for last year we had the highest rate emigration in the european union. With 9 in 1,000 people leaving the country.  which im sure has gone up as this year has been worse than last and we’ve get to get the new budget. can we really afford to lose this many young people.

Yet with further cuts in youth services and college being more expenses and harder for people to go it’s not surprising. I don’t think the government are doing enough to stop us from loosing all of our young people. when the are spending money on having pointless referendums to see if they can cut judges pay. why wouldn’t you everyone else has had to take cuts so why not them??

i just afraid of what the country will be like in 5 years if the country keeps going the way its going as I don’t think we will have many young people and we will also have lost well-educated and trained young people.

By Tanya W.

Yet again the government like to swap and change there mind about what age you’re an adult. At 16 you can pay taxes, work and pay adult fairs when in comes to public services, all the down sides yet not getting any of the perks and being told you should act like an adult.

Then at 18 you continue doing all that stuff but now you get some of the perks like being able to buy drink and fags, go night clubs, vote but you get more bills and pressured to decided what to do with your life because know you’re an adult yet at same time treated like a child.

At 21 now you’re eventually old enough for people to actually treat and speak to you like an adult and you can now become a politician so you can run to become a member of the Dail and even maybe Taoiseach. The person with the most power in the country. Yet again the government decided you are not old enough to do other jobs i.e. run for president which for some mad reason you can’t run for until you’re over 35. Why 35?? I’ve no idea it doesn’t make sense to me.

So if I get this right you can run the country at 21 as that’s the age you have to be a politician so you can become a member of Dail and become the Taoiseach. Not that I saying it likely to happen at the age of 21 but it could happen by the age of 30 let’s say. So you can be aged anywhere from 21 and run the country having complete control over it. Yet you can’t become the face of the country which is a lot of the president’s job. I’m not saying they are not important or don’t have other jobs but in a way that’s what they are.

In the next coming month we have to vote for are next president we have a choice of 7 candidates made up of 5 males 2 females all over the age of 50.  All I’m sure have there strengths and weakness. Any of the seven will do a good job I’m sure I’m just really
confused. Constantly it is being said the youth are the future they will get us out of this. We need to look to the youth. Yet we won’t allow the youth to run to be president that just seems very contradictory to me.

I would safely say there are people out there under the age of 35 who make excellent presidents but they don’t have the choice because it’s wrote in a document that is really old and out of date. I think its time that it was updated and the age lowered. If there’s a valid reason why it’s that age I will listen but I don’t think there is a leg to stand on trying to keep the age requirement at 35.

By Tanya W.

Yesterday Jay and I along with Michael from Youth Work Ireland attended the Wicklow Comhairle na nog AGM which was attended by over 140 young people. We were invited to the event to inform young people on the issue of the impending Children’s Rights Referendum which is due to take place early 2012.

Michael gave some back ground on what a constitution is and what it does many people have never seen the Irish constitution. This is not surprising as it isn’t very user friendly unless that’s your job you wont be able to understand most of it. Only a few people said they knew where they could access the constitution if they did want to. This says a lot about how the government operate they write all these constitutions, laws etc. In language that is not understood by the general public. This is very unfair as I believe that everyone should be able to access and understand what these things means as they set the laws and rights that people have to live by.

Jay explained about the work that Voices of Youth have done over the past few years and how you can join. Finally I explained why we decided to do work around the topic and why we feel it’s important for people to be able to access this information and use it. Only one person out of the 144 young people had heard before today about the Children’s Rights Referendum. Yet even if they had heard about it they would find it very hard to find information about it and if they were lucky to they wouldn’t be able to understand it. This is not good and we believe that is the down fall of the people in charge of running this referendum. As they have completely failed to inform and involved the one group in society that these changes will actually affected. The Young People.

We done a short question and answers session where we were asked about the mosquito campaign we are still working on but mainly about what are plans are around the referendum. One girl even commented “What’s the point in them holding this referendum if young people don’t know about it or have a say in it”. I explained that I believed there was no point because they say there making these changes to help children yet they are not informing children on what is being done or asking them what they want changed.

All in all it was a worth while trip as now we have informed an extra 143 young people on what is being done in there name. This is not are job to inform the youth but we are happy to try and highlight the issue that they need to get young people involved.   We were asked to maybe return in the near future to do some more work with smaller groups and to work together to get the decision makers to listen to our opinion on the issue.

By Tanya W.

Sat watching the news and listening to the radio most the day. I am so sick and tired of hearing teenagers and young people are the only ones being blamed for all the riots going on in England. What is going on in England is not a surprise it is outrageous and I don’t agree with. People are lashing out at the government and what the government has done to the country.

I think it is very unfair that all the blame Is being put on young people yet from CCTV footage it is very easy to see many people who are in their late 20’s or older. Yet only young people are being blame with all the reports saying ‘100s of YOUTHs are rioting, loitering and setting the fire’s’.

The situation is very bad in England with more cities having riots started every few hours as im writing this the
riots are in areas of London, Birmingham, Bristol, Kent, Liverpool and Leeds. I would say unfortunately this is most probably going to get worse.

People are loitering shops/ businesses and setting them aflame. Also houses are being robbed and owners are being terrorised. Many people have lost their homes, businesses and for some unfortunately both.

One person interviewed on sky news tried saying that maybe the young people are doing this to fight back at all the services that have been stopped for young people so they have nothing. Yet they barely give him 2seconds of a interview. Yet someone stating that its all young people who are from housing estates are to blame has more air time. So its only young people
from lower class communities that are to blame for looting and causing fires.  This is a complete stereo-typing.

There’s talks of putting curfews in place for under 20’s this is outrageous because they are blaming every single youth in these areas which are affected. They would not even think about doing this for people in their 30’s-40’s. Yet I’m sure there is plenty of people in that age range that are involved in the attacks.

I’m not saying that young people are not involved I’m just saying you can’t blame it ALL on young people, there are people of all age
ranges, from different backgrounds, communities that are involved in these attacks. Yet if you listen to the news they would want you to believe that its only unemployed young people from housing estates that are to blame.

“The young people are angry. Angry at the government”

This is the statement I heard a young man make to a reporter on Sky News yesterday evening.

For those who ever turn on a tv, glance at a news paper, or browse the internet, it would be impossible not to have noticed the havoc that is being reeked in London at the moment.

The trigger of this violence was the shooting of a protestor by policemen. But this was just an excuse.

Taking to the streets, masses of angry opportunists of all age and race have looted, burned and destroyed parts of London.

Many people were obviously attacking for personal gain more than a protest on the treatment of the government on the youth of today.

“ I hate the government! I’m gonna nick me a telly!” seems to be a fitting description of the minds of the many raiding and thieving homes and businesses for televisions, PS3s, microwaves, etc.

But it’s not just physical loss that the rioters have caused.

People have been killed. Family businesses obliterated. Livelihoods destroyed.

There can be no doubt that the behaviour of these people, no matter their age, ethnicity or economic background, is horrific and unacceptable. Arrests have been made and I will not argue that they are deserved.

But they won’t be enough.

Although there were throngs of greedy opportunists with no intent other than personal gain and destruction, there were protestors amongst them. And the outcome and origin of this protest cannot be ignored.

The origin of the riots is supposedly a protest to the treatment of Mark Duggan, killed by a policeman during a peaceful protest.

But there has also been suggestions it was young people rebelling against the government taking away their services.

There are many possible things each rioter could have been protesting. What does it say about society that this was the only way these people thought they could be heard? That these violent and outrageous actions were what it had to come to?

I by no means excuse the actions of the men, women and unfortunately even children who have caused this destruction. But I am asking will punishment be enough to solve this social issue?

People are angry at the state of their country, rioting is no way to solve this, but it begs the question that shouldn’t there be another way for people’s queries to be attended to?

Thankfully these riots have not affected Ireland, but I feel sympathy for our neighbours and am all too well aware how the feelings of the people of England may mirror that of our people. Are we too, a nation on the brink of rebellious anarchy?

For now the riots seem to be subsiding, and I hope they stay so.

In the clean up that follows these disturbing few days I hope people realise that there is a problem that has caused this, and the only way to prevent it from happening again is to go to the root of it. 

Just a quick bit of personal feedback on the day today. I’ve been doing the big L C for the last year so I’ve kinda been taking a back seat at Voices of Youth. Today was my first day at Youth Work for a couple of months, and what a welcome back!

For those who haven’t yet heard, today we had a consultation with over 60 young people on their views on the ammendment to the Children’s Rights Constitutional Referendum.

The day was an opportunity for young people to hear about the possible Children’s Rights Constitutional Referendum and to begin developing information materials about the Constitutional Referendum for young people. Importantly, the day offered a chance for young people’s views on the proposed referendum to be heard by the organisations campaigning on the Constitutional Referendum.

It was a great day and I hope I’m right in saying a lot of fun was had! We started off with a quick briefing and some games. We then split into focus groups and disscussed different scenarios affecting young people and how the ammendment would affect them.

After lunch we split up into different groups and everyone gave feedback on what views they wanted to get across in regards to the ammendment.

We finished up with a Q&A session with Senator Van Turnhout the CEO of Children’s Rights Alliance.

Throughout the day everything was recorded by an illastrator which provided a funky way of capturing the day!

I especially loved the graffitti board availale for everyone to write on, it gave everyone a chance to express what they were thinking in a fun, decorative way!

I hope everyone enjoyed the day I certainly did!

So what’s next you may ask?

The members of Voices Of Youth and Youth Work Ireland involved in this process intend to now work very hard to get some results from today. We’re producing an information video and information materials

about the proposed Constitutional Amendment in which answers are given to young

people’s questions. Voices of Youth and Youth Work Ireland have also committed to

recording the views of young people and presenting these to the Irish Government

so that young people can be heard about this issue.

So guys, watch this space, I really hope this is the beginning of something big. 

Travelling to and around Dublin I have seen many signs for the campaign “say no to ageism” yet from my knowledge and from what I have found out that’s only applies to people over 18. So the law around ageism is ageist.

I understand in some cases why this is the case as in for common sense and the protecting on young people when it comes to things like working after a certain time at night as they are still in school. Or a 9yr not being allowed a driving licence because of his age these things protect the young person but should there be a general right for young people not to be discriminated against because of there age.

There are 9 areas to which people are not allowed to discriminate under

• gender;
• civil status;
• family status;
• age;
• disability;
• race;
• sexual orientation;
• religious belief
• Membership of the Traveller Community.

Young people have rights under 8 of those but not when is comes to age discrimination.

I believe that young people have the right to be protected against be discriminated
against due to there age unfortunately this is not the case. In schools this is a big problem most the times on the way young people are spoken to, yet in some cases it is much more severe in the news this week it has been spoke about the case of there being toilets in student bathrooms in a school and when the students went and complained they were not listened to and were just dismissed. Yet when the parents (over 18’s) went and complain something was done about it. This is not fair and should not have been the case.

Another way young people are discriminated against is when it comes to services between the ages of about 12-18. When it comes to dental care there are no dentists that deal with young people between the ages of 12-16 and to get treatment care during this age you have to fight. When it comes to mental health services between roughly 16-18 there is no specific service as child services work up to 16 and adult work from 18. So if your 17 and need mental health services you normally get picked up by the adult service but that is not the right service for you.

Then you have the public transport side of things where you can be charged adult prices at the age of 12 sometimes when you are clearly not over 18 an adult. They wouldn’t charge a 5year old an adult fair. Shops often have security guards follow young people around shops just because of there age they would dare do it to a 30year old. Yet because everyone knows that young people and little or no rights they can get away with it.

Young people are discriminated against a lot almost daily because of there age. While I
think they should not be discriminating against older people on the grounds of age I don’t think they should be discriminating against young people either.

By Tanya W.

For years youth mental health has been a big gap that no one wanted to address, fund or recognise

Thankfully that has change with many groups working on the issue and raising awareness on the importance of addressing the issue at the earliest stage. It is now known that many mental health problems start in people in there late teens and in their early 20s. The government has eventual decided to do something to help by pledging 3million to Headstrong to open up 5 more jigsaw sites. There are already jigsaw sites in Kerry, Ballymun, Galway, Roscommon and Meath.

Jigsaw is a programme of Headstrong the national centre for youth mental health and well being. It works with communities to bring all the services together and make them youth friendly. Headstrong have started a partnership with O2 on a project Think Big it is a programme that funds and supports young people to improve youth mental health and well being in the own area through many different projects. The young people come up with the idea of the project plan in and run it with the support of professionals and funding to make it possible. All you have to do to apply is be aged 12-25 and have an idea. The application is very simple.

I attended an event last month called the Think big showcase where all the different projects that have been funded to date come together to show off there projects. O2 host the event alongside Headstrong and put on an intimate gig for the young people who attended the event.

It was nice to see all the different projects on display and to speak to the young people who came up with the ideas. Also to see that there work was being recognised one of the projects that stays in my head was a group of girls who put a posted on every girl’s locker saying something nice one morning. This was a simple idea but affective.

Headstrong and o2 are working on another unique campaign together called “Share a happy thought” for every happy thought shared o2 donate 1euro to Headstrong for youth mental health. You can share as many thoughts as you like on the Think Big website or twitter or facebook.

Attended the day was very inspiring and showed me that and many adults I hope that young people aren’t trouble makers, waste of space, or up to no good. This group of young people were working on there mental health as well as others.

Check out their websites for more info and how to get involve….

www.o2thinkbig.ie

www.headstrong.ie