Workshops in Carrick-on-Suir to start conversation about substance misuse among teenagers

A series of substance misuse awareness workshops for students at Carrick-on-Suir's secondary schools next week will inform young people about services available to treat addiction as well as educate them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

That’s according to Finn McLoughlin, the 16-year-old Comeragh College student, who has set up the Stay Connected campaign to steer teenagers in the town away from substance misuse.

The workshops will be led by Finn’s 25-year-old cousin Conor Harris, a keen footballer from county Kildare, who has overcome a serious cocaine addiction he developed while in secondary school.

The first of the workshops will take place at Comeragh College and Edmund Rice Secondary School in Carrick next Monday, April 7.

Two more workshops will be delivered at Scoil Mhuire Secondary School in Carrick and St Declan’s Community School in Kilmacthomas in county Waterford on Tuesday, April 8.

Mr Harris will also present a substance misuse workshop for the wider community in the Carraig Hotel in Carrick next Tuesday, April 8 at 7pm.

Representatives of the South East Drug and Alcohol Taskforce team will also attend the workshops to provide information and advice on services and supports for people involved in substance misuse.

Finn said the school workshops will be for senior students, mostly Transition Years.

Stay Connected is the project proposal that won Finn Carrick-on-Suir Lions Club’s Young Ambassador of the 21st Century final last December and for which he subsequently represented the club in the national final of the competition in January.

He says substance abuse is a big problem among young people in Carrick-on-Suir. This along with his cousin’s experience and work in educating young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse inspired him to set up Stay Connected.

“I think it’s as easy to get weed as it’s a cigarette. It’s a really big problem in the town and I just want to help start a conversation about it.

“There is a big stigma around it and people don’t want to talk about it and admit it’s a problem,” he says.

Conor Harris runs a programme called The Other Side of Life through which he has given talks on substance misuse at more than 50 schools and GAA clubs throughout Ireland. In the workshops, he shares his experience of addiction and journey to recovery.

Finn says Conor is drugs free five years and his focus is now on keeping fit and healthy through the enjoyment he gets from playing Gaelic football.

“He is really able to talk to people my age. He knows exactly what it is like. He really connects with us.”

While the workshops will warn young people of the dangers of abusing alcohol and drugs, Finn stresses they won’t be about vilifying drug and alcohol users.

They will send the message to young people that if they have an addiction problem there are ways to get help, and like his cousin, overcome addiction.

Finn says people suffering from addiction find themselves in a hole where they break connections with friends and loved ones.

The aim of his campaign is to help these people to stay connected with their support networks and get help for their addiction.

“Sometimes people don’t realise the supports that are available,” he points out.

Finn pays tribute to the support and help he has received from Carrick Lions Club members and Linda Fahy of the Tudor Artisan Hub who has mentored him in rolling out the Stay Connected campaign. He also pays tribute to the positive response of the four secondary schools hosting the workshops

“The schools have been so welcoming and happy that someone my age has decided this is a problem that needs to be talked about.”

ALSO READ: Carrick-on-Suir teenagers spearheads campaign to steer teenagers away from drugs and alcohol abuse