Flooded youth service reopens

A VITAL youth information service which was virtually wiped out by a devastating flood will celebrate the official opening of its new centre tomorrow.

Mayor of Bandon Cllr Sean O’Donovan will re-launch the West Cork Youth Information service at its new premises on the town’s Glasslyn Road.

Its former centre on North Main Street was completely destroyed in the massive flood which swamped the town in November 2009.

“We lost everything — files, computers, everything,” service coordinator Mark O’Donoghue said.

The flood caused an estimated €17,000 worth of damage to the centre.

It effectively wiped out for six months the service provided by Bandon YMCA to an estimated 9,000 people aged between 14 and 26 living in the West Cork region.

Mr O’Donoghue spent several weeks working from his car, in a bid to keep some level of service going.

But last July, the organisation rented and reconfigured several rooms in a premises on Glasslyn Road owned by the local Chamber of Commerce.

“Everything is now back up and running and we are getting the word out,” Mr O’Donoghue said.

“The re-opening of the new centre will help maintain, and build on the YMCA’s relationship with the town, providing a vital service to the young people of the area.”

Founded in 1989 and based originally in the Town Hall, the West Cork Youth Information Service provides a wide range of free and confidential information and advice on youth-related issues such as CV and interview preparation, housing, education, employment, rights, travel, training and youth work.

The service works with 15 second level schools, providing formal inputs to classes around issues such as alcohol and HIV awareness, and distributing information leaflets to all school-leavers

It also offers a free text service through its notalone.ie website to over 1,000 subscribers.

The new centre also has a drop-in centre, and provides free internet access.

Mr O’Donoghue, who will be replaced as service coordinator in August by TJ Hourihane, said he is particularly pleased that Bandon Mayor, Cllr Sean O’Donovan, is performing the official opening, because he was among the first people to take part in a training programme provided by the YMCA in the area.

* Search for Bandon YMCA on Facebook.