New Kildare recovery hub offers brighter future for those suffering addiction
Minister of state Jennifer Murnane O'Connor with the Dara Project's Alan Gavagan at the opening of the new recovery hub in Kildare Town Photos: Aisling Hyland
THE OPENING of the DARA Project Recovery Hub in Kildare Town was a big success, being described as a celebration of recovery and the culmination of years of hard work.
The recovery hub was opened at the end of last month by minister of state with responsibility for public health, wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. It will be important in offering a pathway to those in recovery for substance abuse issues in the county. The event was attended by politicians, service users, gardaí and those who run the project.
Community employment supervisor with the DARA project, Daniel Finn, said: “It was a fabulous day. It just felt like the culmination of all the hard work we’ve put in, from the day we identified the building.
“Recovery was being celebrated – it was about celebrating recovery in the county and the fact that we are going to have a recovery hub within the county.”
Among the other public representatives present were Labour Party spokesperson on social protection Mark Wall TD, Kildare South TD Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh and Clane-Maynooth councillors Angela Feeney and William Durkan.
Past service users spoke at the event, giving credit to the DARA Project for their recovery.
Mr Finn, a former participant in the programme and a Kildare Town native, told the that the presence of public representatives was “incredibly significant”, reflecting the growth of the programme in the time that he’s been connected to it.
The DARA Project is a drug and alcohol-free structured day programme and specialised community employment scheme designed to support adults in recovery. It was founded in 2013 through collaboration between the County Kildare Leader Partnership (CKLP) and the South Western Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force (SWRDATF). The project also operates a recovery programme in Athy.
Deputy Wall said it was a “wonderful project” and described the opening as “a very important day”. He said it should be replicated. “It is a model of what we need: community care where people who are in addiction can go, can get help, can talk to others that have addiction issues as well and get the help that they and their families need.”
Deputy Wall noted that the programme also helps families, which was as important as helping the individual struggling with addiction.
Speaking in the wake of the tragic drug-related murders in Waterford, he noted the widespread nature of substance abuse: “This is in every small town, big town, large village, small village, in every rural location in the country and including, unfortunately, Kildare.”
Mr Finn had a message of hope: “Our message from the DARA Project will always be that recovery is possible and always is possible.”
