From Department of Health
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The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Hildegarde Naughton will today visit Cavan to see how new services are improving quality of life for residents in the county.
In the area designated within Cavan as a Slaintecare Healthy Communities area, she will meet with representatives from the Cavan County Council and community partners involved in the delivery of a range of free services.
Minister Naughton said:
"I’m delighted to have the opportunity to meet with the teams delivering these initiatives and to hear the many positive changes they are making in the everyday lives of people in the area.
"Delivering practical initiatives that provide education on parenting, nutrition and smoking cessation will create a more positive, healthy environment where people thrive, and I commend the people of Cavan for the ways in which they have embraced these programmes and would like to take this opportunity to thank those involved in the running of these services for all their fantastic work."
In the first engagement of the day, Minister Naughton will visit Johnston Central Library to see a demonstration of the new ‘Magic Table’ by library staff. The Magic Table received €5,000 in funding from Healthy Ireland and €6,256 from Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme. The Magic Table is an interactive tool that uses games, music, visuals and other content to engage and stimulate the people who use it. This sensory piece of equipment will improve the lives of people in our communities living with cognitive disabilities and autism. The activities and games are suitable for people living with dementia, autism and sensory issues and challenges them to think and to connect through touch, sight and sound.
The Minister will then visit the new shanette at Cavan Leisure Centre known as the ‘Community Hub’ where the Minister will unveil a plaque and officially open the new community space. The Community Hub received €10,000 in funding from the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme, €7,500 from Healthy Ireland and €22,000 from Cavan County Council. Work began on the shanette in 2019 and it will function as a multi-purpose facility to accommodate numerous community groups, clubs, organisations and events in Cavan. The shanette is fully wheelchair accessible and equipped with a disabled bathroom, kitchenette and open plan multi-purpose area. It will act as a base for Cavan Lawns Bowl Club who currently have 30 – 40 local regular users. The Lawn has also been installed with a railed step ladder to cater for disability groups and older adults.
The facility will also be used in conjunction with the newly developed Cycle Hub at Cavan Leisure Centre. All community groups within the county will be offered the opportunity to utilise the Hub and its facilities for training courses, participation initiatives and health and wellbeing projects.
The HSE and Cavan County Local Development will have stalls set up in the shanette for those in attendance to hear more about the initiatives being rolled out in Cavan under the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme including the Parenting Programmes, We Can Quit and Healthy Food Made Easy.
The funding received for the Community Hub project was also supported by the Department of Health, Sports Capital Programme – Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Cavan Sports Partnership, Cavan LCDC and the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Minister Naughton will then conclude her trip by visiting Cavan and Monaghan Drug and Alcohol Service (MQI CAMDAS) in Drumnavanagh. MQI CAMDAS offer a range of responsive, person centred and holistic support services to individuals, their families, and the wider communities. Through the Community Employment programme, the service offers opportunities for people in recovery from substance use to re-engage in active community and working life. This is achieved by a range of training, education, work experience, and activities delivered alongside therapeutic supports for drug and alcohol use. During her visit, the Minister will highlight the forthcoming citizens’ assembly on drug use which will consider how to reduce the harmful impact of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider society.
Minister Naughton added:
"I am aware that drugs affect all parts of Ireland, rural as well as urban. The lived experience of young people and adults affected by drug use, as well as their families and communities, will be a particular focus of the citizens’ assembly."