A SHARED new base for two groups who save lives and provide aid to those feeling distressed has been given formal approval from Limerick City and County Council.
The Haven Hub, in conjunction with Limerick Land Search Team (LLST), has been given the green light for the project, which aims to be the first dedicated Mental Health Community Centre in Ireland.
It will be located at 9A and 9B Old Thomondgate, two doors away JJ Bowles bar.
According to a Haven Hub representative, the facility will be the country’s first dedicated mental health community centre and allow the group to offer a “crisis cafe” to host people feeling distressed or in need of someone to talk to.
Marking the allocation of a dedicated building for a shared base between the two organisations, Haven Hub founder and chairperson Leona O’Callaghan said: “This is an incredibly exciting project, we are so grateful to the Council for giving us the opportunity to be able to deliver our services to the community from our forever home.”
“When we first started down this road, we had initially thought that the building would function simply as a crisis centre for ourselves and a base of operation for LLST. But the project has evolved and now we hope to offer the community a dedicated mental health wellness community centre.
“From this new location, we will be able to deliver our mental health awareness courses and wellness programs, as well as providing us with a dedicated location for our crisis centre.”
The groups hope the facility will also provide the community with information and resources on how to take care of their own mental health, including information on supports for issues that can have an indirect effect on one’s mental health, such as issues around homelessness, sexual or gender identity, parenting, and bereavement.
Calvin Prendergast, chairperson of Limerick Land Search Team, said: “We’re grateful to the Council for seeing the value that we provide to the community by allocating us a space. Currently, our equipment is stored in our personal vehicles and we have no place to debrief our volunteers after callouts or a specific space for training. This new dedicated location will give us a permanent base of operations within which we can carry out all of the above.”
