By Niamh Moore,
Volunteer Network Support Officer
It was exciting to be able to represent Volunteer Ireland and the work that we’ve done on the “Stop Loneliness, Start Volunteering” project in Zagreb, Croatia. The EU project was developed as a possible solution to the isolation and loneliness young people faced due to COVID-19 restrictions, but is also aware of the fact that isolation is not a new problem and that collaboration is at the heart of addressing the problem.
I was welcomed by representatives from Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark and Germany. There were discussions about loneliness, our human connections with real and honest conversations about a subject that affects so many in our society. This dialogue would lay the foundations for the conference discussion about the future of our social connectedness and the approach to mental health as a shared task in our communities. It was amazing to have conversations about community and the challenges we face in connecting with each other, that crossed through barriers of country and language.
Following our meeting, we had the opportunity to visit two organisations in Zagreb that are at the heart of supporting young and old who are living with mental health issues. The first organisation Udruga (Play) supports young people with mental health issues.
We then met three incredible people who set up a support group for people living with mental health issues. Ludruga, who powerfully reclaim the word meaning “crazy”, has peer to peer support and unconventionally the groups involve people with all different types of mental health issues, rather than dividing the groups. There were interesting discussions about how other European countries deal with the unique but similar needs under the umbrella of mental health. Courage and perseverance have enabled new discussions about mental health in Croatia and these organisations are leading the charge. I can only imagine what the next few years will bring and that hopefully these conversations will continue to reach out to more people and their loved ones.
The following day we attended the National Volunteering Conference with attendees from the Ministry of Labour, Pension, Family and Social Policy, the City of Zagreb, volunteer centres, volunteer involving organisations, as well as other relevant stakeholders and decision-makers in the field of volunteering, community, and mental health.
There are so many important organisations and efforts in Ireland to bring together communities and to integrate people with mental illness and I felt honoured to be able to reference their work, as well as gain insight into other models of how we can uplift the lonely or disabled around us.
