Connemara youth impact their community with 'The COW'

An inspirational group of young people in Connemara have come together to form 'The COW' (The Community of Wellness). Together, they saw the need and an opportunity to reach out to local community organisations to activate visionary ideas.

One of the first successes for The COW was inspiring a radio series to build awareness of wellbeing and mental health services available for the youth. It broadcast on Connemara Community Radio with the support of two local organisations, Forum Connemara CLG Ability and Connemara Care.

Last week, The COW launched a new youth support product: fridge magnets with 24-hour contact details to mental health support services. These are being distributed through Connemara businesses, community organisations, and housing estates.

They worked with Mary O’Sullivan, HSE, the Forum Connemara Adolescent Support and Ability Projects, and Connemara Care to bring this project to fruition.

Mary O'Sullivan, the HSE resource officer for suicide prevention in Community Healthcare West, said that they support this work as it is in line with the goals set out in 'Connecting for Life', which is a suicide prevention action plan for Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.

She explained: “One of the goals in this plan is to support local communities to be more confident, informed and connected to help mental wellbeing. Initiatives like The COW highlight the importance of communities coming together to look out for one another and explore ways to improve their mental health and wellbeing.”

The next endeavour for these young community volunteers is the setting up of ‘walk and talk routes’ to get people out in the evening. This will be organised for all members of the community and will adhere to all public health guidelines and protocols concerning Covid-19.

Marie Feeney, project co-ordinator of the Forum Connemara Adolescent Support Project, added: “They have a wealth of ideas and enthusiasm for many more initiatives in the community. I have no doubt will make their many visions a reality.”

A spokesperson for The COW, Jerry Ward, said: “The overall consensus of the group is that we are delighted to be helping create public awareness at a community level of the great organisations that are there to help and support people when they need it.

“Additionally, feedback from the community was well received and it made us feel that we will do all we can to make this work with others as 'The Community of Wellness', aka The COW.”