In light of the Covid-19 Pandemic YAP Ireland conducted a survey of the Children, Young People and Families who access our Service.
A recent survey conducted by Youth Advocate Programmes Ireland (YAP Ireland) shows that young people and families receiving the YAP Service hope that the new Irish government will ensure that schools and creches reopen, make additional provisions for mental health, community and public health services, permanent housing and additional income supports to ameliorate some of the negative effects of Covid-19. YAP Ireland work with many vulnerable children, young people and families around the country who already faced difficult circumstances prior to the lockdown of society in March 2020. Many of these young people rely heavily on services within the community such as youth groups, sports clubs and indeed mental health services. The results of YAP’s survey show that both young people and their parents/ carers are concerned that many community-based services will not reopen and that this will negatively impact their mental and physical health and the treatments they need to receive.
The survey also finds that children, young people and families have been greatly impacted by the closure of schools/ childcare and the pressure to homeschool and keep up with coursework. Many families are single parent households who may have children with additional needs who fear the schools and childcare will not reopen for their children or that they themselves will catch the Corona Virus and will become unable to care for their families. YAP Ireland continued to provide service to up to 95% of our children, young people and families throughout the pandemic either online or face to face. You can read the full analysis of the research report HERE
