Gateway Newsletter March 2016

N e w s l e t t e r G a t e w a y

Unit 1, 2 Parker Hill, Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 ( opposite the swimming pool )

E-mail : [email protected] Blog : projectgateway.blogspot.ie

Phone : 085 752 1220 OR 01 4977005 ( Office hours )

Hours : Monday and Thursday 1.00 pm - 5.00 pm MARCH 2016

Howdy readers, March is marching

upon us and already we have noticed a lengthening of

the evenings. The 2016 vernal or spring equinox

comes on March 20 at 4:30. The March equinox

signals the beginning of spring in the Northern

Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

So happy days !!!!! Those dark evenings will soon be a

distant memory. …..In this months issue we have some

good advice from Tom O’ B as regards Cheltenham,

we have sad farewells from Tom and John, some

brainy quips from Richard, and a hello from our new

Project Worker Catherine. We really appreciate

articles, poems and thoughts from members, so please

keep them coming in. The Newsletter Team

Tom’s Farewell

H ello all. As

most of you

know I'm

finishing up

my CE scheme in

Gateway in February. It

has been three years since

starting the CE scheme,

and it has been a great

three years. The members

and staff at Gateway have

been very supportive of

me as a project worker. I

struggled with my own

mental health at times as I

was put under enormous

pressure outside of

Gateway during my time

here. This however wasn't

something that halted my

time in Gateway instead I

was well supported

and able to take time off

as needed and return

when I was in a better

place, so thank you to

Gateway for giving me

the space needed. I will

definitely be back as a

member. For anyone

interested in applying for

the CE scheme or just

want to do some

volunteering I would

strongly recommend it. Its

a great feeling being a

part of an organisation

like Gateway instead of

being motivated by

money and greed you are

instead motivated by

helping others. I will see

all of you from time to

time so thank you to

Gateway. Regards Tom

Hi, I’m Catherine..

I have been

interested in

Mental Health for

a long time having

had experience's of my

own. I came across

Gateway while applying

for a C.E. scheme in the

summer of 2015. I was

really impressed by how

much support there was

for people within this

welcoming environment.

I have been a user of

Mental Health Services

for the last number of

years. I thought of how

much I could have

benefited from a drop-in

like this years back. I feel

Gateway is a

very empowering place

for member’s recovery. I

am looking forward to

my time as a project

worker and

“learning from others

experience”

learning from others

experience. I am

interested in all things

holistic, WRAP and

Recovery. I am around

every Monday and

Thursday during drop-in,

so feel free to have a

chat. Cather ine .

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

Please take note that Gateway will be closed on

Thurs the 17th and Mon the 28th of March,

due to Saint Patricks day and the bank holiday.

Gateway

Year One!

Howdy All!

It’s a sad coincidence that the date I

finish my Tús placement is the same

day that our Tom finishes his CE

placement. The good news for

Gateway – Tom will be staying on

as a member. The bad news for

Gateway? After a couple of weeks

break, I may be back….. haha!

I can safely say that both personally

and professionally, this has been the

best year I’ve experienced in a very

long time. I’ve been so lucky to

have been placed with Gateway.

Not only have I been blessed with

the best colleagues any man could

wish for, I’ve developed a great

affection for the drop in space and

for the company of the fantastic

Gateway Members that make the

place what it is.

It’s been rapidly growing on me

over the year of just how special a

place Gateway is. I remember my

first time introducing a member to

the project. They were extremely

nervous on arrival, and my

induction for that member wasn’t

great as it was my first, I was pretty

nervous too! I was afraid that I had

messed up – and that member didn’t

show up again for a while – but they

did come back, eventually!

The thing is, as time went by, I

came to notice that member turning

up more regularly. And also that

they were slowly opening up to the

group and interacting more,

overcoming their shyness and

nerves, becoming more and more

involved, becoming a very valued

and welcome member. It was great

to witness such a change in this

person – a brilliant feeling.

When I look back on the year, it

was the exact same change that

happened to me since coming to

Gateway. That’s why I love being

part of it – what it does for people.

The experience of a totally new job

role and the amazing people that

came with it has really had a hugely

beneficial effect on my mental

health, shyness, anxiety and nerves.

So to all the staff and member I’d

like to say Thank You for that. It

won’t be forgotten!

(And if you’ll have me, I’d love to

hang around a while longer!)

All the best folks. Cheers!

John M.

Teachers club, Parnell Square. .

4th and 5th of March...Jack-knives and Buckshot...8.00pm till 9.00pm...10 euro.

Also a story telling night on the 10th of March at 8,00pm. 5 euro...All very welcome…...

Gateway Film and Leadership Course

Between October and December 2015, a Film and

Leadership Course was run at Gateway. With the

guidance of Amy and Tim, the group gathered to

explore various aspects around leadership skills and

towards the creation of a Short Film.

As part of the process, those involved used

improvisation, games, playing around with the camera

and exploring ideas for a film of 3-5 minutes in length.

We decided that the film was to be about The Gateway

Mental Health Project. We hoped to give an overview

of Gateway, with the purpose of letting others know

about what we do. Also the film hopefully would

encourage people to access Gateway.

Over a three month period, we slowly built up a raft of

ideas, which we then filmed. Some of the material was

a way to expand on suggestions, whilst other

approaches were developed further. We filmed on the

streets of Rathmines and within the doors of Gateway.

We tried to capture some of the main elements that

occur here. We interviewed some people and filmed

many aspects of Gateway; including Art, the Monthly

Newsletter, the Pool Table, the Drop-In Space, and

W.R.A.P etc. In recent weeks, the film makers have

held a few editing sessions to review the footage and

give suggestions on how to complete the short film.

We have provisionally titled the film, “A Place to Be

Yourself” and we hope to launch

it in May 2016.

Stay tuned for further updates!!

Richard

Last month, we were visited by Lara Kelly

from Mental Health Reform for some very

welcome Voter Awareness Training - discussing

what are the issues around mental health that matter

to us and how we would go about speaking to

election candidates and canvassers about these

issues. There was a good attendance and was

enjoyed and valued by all. A big thank you to

Lara for coming over and giving us an insight into

how the elections work.

6/4 the field

When I mentioned Cheltenham to our

esteemed editor, he nearly fell off his

editorial chair…why I don’t know!!!!

Cheltenham is cherished like heaven on earth, like the

Wailing Wall to the Jew, Mecca to the Muslim, and

Lough Derg to the Irish catholic.

Our European minister Sir Charles McCreevy, if

Cheltenham fell on an important European Parliament

date or issue he to the shock horror of his colleagues

casually rode out and over to the Cotswolds,

It is sort of Irish versus the English in horse racing

terms, and of late we have gained the upper hand.

The horse is scared to the Irish psyche and it’s where

we get to beat the British, but lose always to Paddy

Power. Paddy Power is now a 1 billion euro company.

A few wealthy owners dominate i.e. Michael O Leary

of Ryanair, JP McManus and Rich Ricci a wealthy

American-London city trader also a few trainers are

tending to dominate at the moment, like our own

Willie Mullins from Carlow.

Its jumps are winter racing and not the flat racing of

the warm summer evenings. I am not going to give

any tips (talk to me in private)

except to relate that Paddy Power

made more than 300 million

profits last year…So be aware…

And they’re off…. Tom O B..

My Buddhist friends say "politicians have the

hardest job in the world". I am sure like myself you

are finding this statement incredible and not

evidence based (as they say these days mainly due

to the absence of blind faith ah! God be with the

days). Until they explained to me that if politicians

told the truth they would never get elected so it

becomes a necessary evil in order to get elected and

go on to serve the public. This privilege and

honour of service is I regard as the primary

motivating factor of people who enter politics and

not as some cynics would have you believe a desire

to feather their own nest and that of their friends (I

will accept that there is a good deal of unskilled

thinking involved as is evident in some of their

policies but that's for another day watch this space)

Eucabios McGrail

Mobile Gateway Outreach Initiative

In 2015, Gateway was asked by the HSE to help the

local services to inform other service users about

Gateway. Our members decided that Gateway should

find ways to reach out to others in the community and

agreed to explore approaches to doing this.

On the 20th of January 2016, some members of

Gateway met in Parker Hill to develop an Outreach

Plan. Outreach is about reaching out to people in the

community who may benefit from attending Gateway.

Outreach requires us to go into the community to

inform people of Gateway’s Services and Benefits.

This can be done by visiting places to talk about

Gateway and by distributing leaflets & posters to

places.

As part of the development of the Mobile Gateway

Initiative, members involved will receive training and

support around going into the community to chat about

the Association. In recent weeks we have created a

seven point “Outreach Plan”, which can be viewed at

the Drop-In. As part of this, a database of services has

been compiled and the designing of a volunteer

information pack is currently been developed.

Recently there was an information session, briefing

other members of Gateway of the “Outreach Plan” and

the possibility of getting involved in the future.

Richard

If you feel that you would like to be part of the

“Mobile Gateway Team”, let a member of staff know.

Further details will follow over the coming weeks.

Gett ing to know you, gett ing to

know al l about you…

1. What is the best thing that has happened to you

in the last 12 months? I joined gateway

2. If you had a super power, what would it be?

I would like to be able to fly.

3. Can you tell us your 3 best traits?

Honesty, reliability and good natured person.

4. What do you value most in life?

My daughter and family.

5. Name one thing you would like to change about

yourself? Nothing. I am what I am.

6. Where would you like to visit ? Jamaica.

7. Name something you miss about childhood ?

Cuts and bruises.

8. Name your three wishes ?

Health, Happiness, and Joy.

9. What is your favourite film ? The Green Mile.

10. What is your favourite book ? The Krays..

Mick B

Thanks and appreciation to all our supporters MY MIND in Ranelagh is offering discounted

counselling services. Vouchers are available to

Gateway members at €10 per session for 5

sessions. Contact Gateway on 01-4977005. Thank you to

the ESB for supporting this service.

Did you know?

On the 22nd of July 2011,

a team of astronomers

from NASA’s Laboratory

and Caltech announced

the discovery of the

largest, most distant

reservoir of water ever

detected. A gigantic cloud

of H2O (Water),

containing 140 trillion

times more water than all

of Earth’s oceans

combined, was sighted

over 12 billion light years

away from Earth.

The galaxy where it’s

located harbours a black

hole 20 million times

more massive than our

Sun! This proves that life-

giving water is not only

abundant, but has been

present in the Universe for

a large fraction of its

lifetime.

Gateway Express

You would have thought

a host of heavenly angels

had descended on

Gateway when the

fabulous Gateway choir

( Gateway Express)

under the baton of Amy

their choir-mistress gave

an impromptu rendition

of what they had in their

repertoire. We all sat

back and were

entertained in the back

room as they sang their

hearts out, with a mixture

of Congolese spiritual

folk-songs, to Ob-La-De,

Ob-La-Da by the Beatles.

We really hope that Amy

will come back to us, and

we will go from strength

to strength. There is

nothing better then

letting it rip. Fair play to

the choir and thanks to

Amy for her joy-de-vivre

that she brought to us.

Ciaran

Calling all

music ians,

calling all

music ians…

From March the 3rd there

will be a new members

group called Clodagh’s

Music Group. This peer-

led group is for anyone

who enjoys music and

would like to learn or play

an instrument, write

music of just listen. Then

please come along to

Clodagh’s Music Group

on the first Thursday of

every month in Gateway

from 12.00pm till 1.00pm.

Our “Country Cousins” come a

visiting.

We had a visit, from Aras

Folláin all the way from

Tipperary. Aras Folláin is

a peer-led project just like

Gateway. They showed us

a film of their premises

which was very

interesting. Some

members from Gateway

are going to go and see

them sometime soon

when the weather gets

better. Aras Folláin also

help individuals who may

have physical or

emotional issues .They

arrived at about 12.30 pm

and walked around

Rathmines to savour the

delights of the town and

they stayed until about 5

p.m. I hope they enjoyed

their day as much as we

enjoyed their visit.

Mary Q.