Malahide Lions Club were delighted to present a cheque for €1500 to Skerries Youth Support Services (SYSS). The project was set up 10 years ago in response to a tragic suicide in the area. SYSS provide free counselling to young people between the ages of 12 to 25 as part of an early intervention initiative to young people who may be experiencing challenges to their positive mental health. Although the group is based in Skerries their services are open to all at-risk young people in the general Fingal area including Malahide.

SYSS provide 1-6 free counselling sessions to at-risk young people and will refer them to other services if the counselling offered has not sufficiently addressed their issues. About 185-190 young people are helped every year. Currently there is a waiting period of approximately 7 weeks to access counselling so the demand for the service is huge.

The group also produce a booklet called Myself, My Life which includes information about mental health and issues such as bullying, gambling and drugs and alcohol abuse. The booklet includes useful advice and useful contact information, and it is also distributed to local schools.

SYSS is run by volunteers and does not receive any state funding; it raises the funds it needs for its service and booklet publication. Malahide Lions Club were very happy to be able to provide funding to assist in paying for counselling hours.