Tullamore youth wellbeing project receives €31,000 in unique funding

Tullamore Community and Family Resource Centre has secured €31,000 in funding for their Sound Minds Youth Wellbeing Project. The funding, announced on Tuesday by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan TD, has been awarded through the 2026 Community Safety Fund.

The Community Safety Fund redirects proceeds of crime seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and An Garda Síochána back into communities.

The Tullamore centre has secured the funding for its Sound Minds Youth Wellbeing Project, a mobile creative technology initiative aimed at reaching young people who may not engage with traditional or talk-based supports. The project will use portable DJ and digital-media workshops to engage young people through creative, practical and non-clinical activities.

The Tullamore-based project will deliver tailored interventions in communities across Offaly and Laois, working with schools, Family Resource Centres, youth services and other local partners. The programme will combine small-group work, one-to-one engagement and hands-on music and technology sessions.

Fine Gael TD for Offaly, John Clendennen said that the latest allocation represents another funding success for the Tullamore Community and Family Resource Centre following a series of positive announcements in recent months.

He said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the Tullamore Community and Family Resource Centre on their successful application. There is considerable work involved in identifying funding opportunities, developing proposals and ultimately delivering the projects that follow. This funding is another acknowledgment of their focus on delivering and developing services locally.”

Fianna Fáil TD for Offaly, Tony McCormack, also welcomed the funding and said that the approach could help reach young people who might otherwise be difficult to engage. He said: “Every young person is different and not everyone responds to the same type of support. This project recognises that and uses music, technology and creativity to engage young people in a different way.”

He was also appreciative of the initiative: “Because there is a very simple principle behind it: money taken out of the hands of criminals is being put back into our communities.”