‘Teen Talk 2020’ for TY pupils coming to the Charleville Park
INITIATIVE AIMS TO OFFER HELP AND GUIDANCE TO ‘DIGITAL GENERATION’
A RECENT survey undertaken by the UCD School of Psychology found the number of teenagers reporting with severe anxiety has doubled from 11 per cent to 22 over the past decade.
With this in mind, promoting the importance of mental health, physical fitness and general well-being among teenagers will be the focus of an event taking place in Charleville next month.
Hosted by Cork County Council and funded by Healthy Ireland, the annual ‘ Teen Talk’ roadshow for TY students will pull into the Charleville Park hotel on Thursday, March 26, with similar events also planned for Little Island and Bantry.
The free event, which will be chaired by Virgin Media TV presenter Elaine Crowley, will feature presentations by guests speakers Grace O’Rourke, the winner of RTÉ’s ‘Special Forces Hell Week’; Gerry Hussey, performance psychology consultant and motivational speaker; Pat Divilly, fitness experts and entrepreneur and former MMA athlete; and mindfulness coach Graham McCormack.
Drawing on their own personal experiences, the speakers will address the students on a variety of topics including nutrition, fitness, personal well-being and mental health.
A counselling service will be available at the event, with information also available from Health Ireland and other local service providers.
For the first time, a series of ‘Gen Z’ evening events will also be held under the ‘ Teen Talk 2020’’ umbrella, offering support to parents in their efforts to better communicate with teenagers.
Speaking ahead of the event, Grace O’Rourke said every adult can recall the difficulties they experienced as teenagers while trying to communicate with their peers and elders.
“You can now add into the mix things like social media, cyber-bullying and screen-time. We need to support this ‘digitalgeneration in a way that society has never had to before. ‘ Teen Talk’ is a great way to start that conversation.”
Nigel O’Callaghan of Teen Talk said the initiative had proved to be hugely important in helping TY students to “learn the importance of speaking out when they face challenging situations”.
“Such has been their impact, many teachers have requested further capacity and follow-on events to be held. As a result, this year’s event is even bigger and we have invited parents and teachers to attend separate evening events to further spread the message,” said Mr O’Callaghan.
Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the initiative was a fantastic example of the role the public service can play in supporting communities.
The Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan, encouraged local secondary schools to sign up for Teen Talk.
“I would also ask that they also spread the word among parents that they too can play a role in tackling the issues that affect their teenagers by attending the evening events,” said Cllr O’Sullivan.
“I would also like to thank the speakers for giving their time to tell their stories, and show a younger generation how to deal with the challenges that life can throw up”.
Local schools have been informed about the Charleville event and how to register, with registration details for the parent and teacher evenings to follow.