Youth Action Castlebar

A Garda Youth Diversion Project

Background

Youth Action Castlebar is a Garda Youth Diversion Project. The project known locally as YAC was established in Castlebar in 2006 and covers the geographical boundary of Castlebar and it’s immediate hinderland. Funded by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform / Irish Youth Justice Service and co-funded by the European Social Fund.

Garda Youth Diversion Projects are part supported by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.

Aim:

To offer interventions to young people who are involved or who are at risk of becoming involved in:

Crime
Drug and substance misuse
Vandalism
Anti–social behaviour
To target alienated young people outlined above.
To support young people staying out of trouble in a safe and positive environment.

Who participates in the project?

The primary source of referrals of young people onto the project is through the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme. The optimum age for participants in the Garda Youth Diversion project is 12-18 years old.

The objective of the Juvenile Diversion programme is to deal with juveniles who offend, by way of administering a formal or informal caution, thus diverting the offender away from the courts and minimising the likelihood of further offending

Young people who are referred to the project will be involved in a variety of programmes and activities. These may be based on one to one work with the project workers or in a group setting. All of the programmes are aimed to facilitate behavioural and attitude change. The activities will reflect the interest of participants as much as possible.

Management of the Project

The project is supported by a local advisory committee. This committee comprises of representatives from the local Gardai, local community, North Connaught Youth and Community Services, TUSLA, Probation and Welfare Services and local secondary schools.