Project
Limerick and Tipperary Samaritans provide emotional support round the clock for anyone experiencing feelings of distress or despair. We provide a safe space to talk about how you are feeling. We have a training room in the basement of our centre which is in use for approx. 50 days a year. We wish to use this resource more often (for free and as a potential fundraiser) with the aim of raising awareness and offering an alternative outlet for people to meet. Samaritans have a training room in the basement of our centre which is in use for approx. 50 days a year.
To use the underutilized branch training room for raising awareness of organization by holding events / activities which would be open to the public. We wish to use this resource more often with the aim of raising awareness of our charity and offering an alternative outlet for people to meet and have fun., learn and discuss by doing the following, host events e.g. board games, quizzes, movies, book club, writing club etc., invite other charities, community groups and service users etc. to hold talks presentations open to the public and host micro volunteering days, afternoons for people unable or unwilling to commit to being a listening volunteer. The Samaritans association has held once off events via meetup and as part of Limerick Mental Health week in the training room in the last 12 months. Due to the success of these events we now wish to try and expand on the use of the centre.
Community groups, voluntary organisations and individuals in the Mid-Western Region.
A key objective is to give community groups and organisations the opportunity to access resources in their local university. We support our community partners to effectively engage with faculty and students. Community members are provided with information and resources. Evaluation of their experiences of engaging with UL faculty and students and meeting project expectations is undertaking at specific timelines throughout the practicum. Community Evaluation of the project is designed into the project from start to finish.
Learning
The Samaritans organisation is exploring the use of their premises to raise awareness of their organisation and offer an entertaining outlet for people to meet. This will involve planning, co-ordinating and supporting events. Students will also be expected to produce a community briefing report and present their project outputs and outcomes to their community partner.
To engage with local citizens to support positive mental health and well-being and raise awareness of the wider remit of the Samaritans with the general public. As such, you will engage in both independent as well as collaborative learning. You will learn from one another to reach creative solutions to practical problems. The module is designed to enable students to develop the capacity to apply curriculum-based knowledge in a real-world setting and self-assess and develop graduate attributes to work effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team in collaboration with external community stake-holders. Submission of reflective journals will allow you to reflect on your learning and to identify any difficulties encountered in conducting your project. Presentations will allow you to practice and refine your communication skills.
You will work collaboratively with a project leader in the Samaritans, community groups/individual and your peers.
Both formative and summative assessment methods will be used. Assessments will be designed to complement the interactive teaching and learning approaches. In particular, methods conducive to workplace assessment will be employed. These will include weekly reflection diaries, a group presentation, a reflective assignment and self-assessment activity.