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YAP members invited on to Headstrong’s board

We’re delighted to announce that two YAP members will be attending all board meetings for 2012. The purpose of YAP members meeting with the board is to ensure that the voices of young people are heard at all levels of the organisation.

Tim Smyth  attended his first meeting in December 2011 said: “This was my first board meeting and I was grateful for the opportunity to offer a youth perspective on Headstrong's work. It says a lot about the organisation’s commitment to youth engagement that the views I brought along from the Youth Advisory Panel were heard and accepted. The fact that Ruth Baker will also be joining the board from YAP cements that commitment.

“On a sad note, though, it was Deirdre Mortell’s last board meeting with Headstrong. Her contribution over the years has been significant and she will be missed. The meeting itself covered the My World research, Headstrong’s financial position going into 2012 and extensive updates on what’s been a transitional year for the Jigsaw sites. I was glad to be part of the sign-off on what was a significant year for the organisation as a whole.”

Ruth Baker joins Tim Smyth on the board in 2012. “Firstly it’s a huge honour; the board is a great group of people doing some fantastic work for Headstrong and the young people of Ireland. However, more importantly I think of it as a responsibility to YAP. Since this is our first time officially sitting with the board I feel the need to make sure I convey YAP’s opinions and advice to the board in a clear and concise way. While YAP are a very diverse group of young people and rightly so, we are a great team and support system to each other when working for Headstrong and I see this as an opportunity to show the board exactly what we can offer at this level. I am really looking forward to it and hope the collaboration between the board and YAP can only add to Headstrong’s continuing success,” says Ruth.

YAP plans for 2012

Our Youth Advisory Panel held its first meeting of 2012 in January and we're delighted to welcome Professor Dick Clayton from Headstrong and Declan Ryan from the One Foundation to the gathering who wished to meet with YAP to get a vibe for where they are at and where they are going. The main purpose of the meeting was to set out their aims and objectives for the year which will primarily focus on:

• Network Conference The delivery of a networking event/conference in 2012, ideally in October. This event will cater for youth advisory panels throughout Ireland to come together and share ideas and learning from their work with Jigsaw sites. If you have any ideas for this event please forward to james@headstrong.ie.
• Headstrong learning network YAP will be working with our Jigsaw Development Officer Marie Louise on delivering a session on the importance of youth engagement to all new members of our learning network. YAP believes that this is a crucial to show in a positive manner the power of giving young people a voice. The one-day session will focus on various aspects of engaging young people in the setting up and delivery of a service.
• Teambuilding With new members on board YAP have decided it’s crucial for them to bond further as a team and will be undertaking a team-building day during the summer months.
• Training YAP held a productive discussion around the importance of receiving more training to support their role assisting Headstrong. Areas of training which will be undertaken in 2012 include mental health awareness, communication skills, media training, social media and more.
• Publications For 2012 YAP is keen to work alongside Headstrong in developing youth-friendly publications and other media to promote youth mental health across Ireland. If you have any ideas on this particular subject please contact james@headstrong.ie.

Interview panels

YAP have been involved in several interviews for staff members across our Jigsaw sites over the past few months and will be assisting Headstrong in further recruitment. The main aim of having young people on the interview panels is to assess the youth friendliness of the candidates. It also allows the young person and adults on the panel to work together in a collaborative manner to ensure the best candidates join the Headstrong and Jigsaw teams.