Kildare CYPSC Chairperson, Patricia Finlay and Kildare CYPSC members were delighted to join the local community in welcoming Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone to Kildare Town where she officially launched the Hive, Kildare’s new innovative youth hub.
The Hive opened its doors in September 2015. It targets young people aged 10-25 years through a range of youth activities, services and programmes. There are approximately 100 young people using the facility on a weekly basis.
Kildare Youth Service, Kildare Town Youth Project (KYS), moved from their former location in the town and are anchor tenants of the Hive. They have increased the numbers of young people engaged with KYS by 100% since transferring to the Hive, largely due to the quality of the premises and central location.
A range of short and long term users are now using the Hive as a space to run services and supports for young people. They include two new youth clubs, Foroige and the No Name Club. A youth event was also supported by the Tidy Towns for Bio Diversity week.
A new four month targeted programme for young unemployed people (18-25 years) is now running three mornings per week. This programme is a partnership between County Kildare LEADER Partnership, Kildare Youth Services, Department of Social Protection, Kildare Wicklow Education & Training Board (KWETB) and Kildare Children and Young People’s Services Committee (CYPSC).
In addition, the Hive has been used by a range of agencies such as Tusla and KWETB to deliver a variety of training and programmes. Kildare Sports Partnership have plans to deliver a programme in the coming months.
KYS are currently working to establish a youth-led committee who will become more central to decision-making within the Hive.
In addition KYS are supporting volunteers through training, guidance and support to establish a volunteer-led youth café. This will open in September for young people from the town.
A range of summer programmes are also planned which are largely volunteer-led. The profile of the Hive is growing and demand for the space is increasing.
The local Hive board is made up of representation from the Integrated Services Programme, Kildare Tidy Towns, Kildare Community Forum, Kildare Youth Services, Kildare County Council, County Kildare LEADER Partnership, Tusla-Child and Family Agency, An Garda Síochana, South West Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force and Kildare Wicklow Education and Training Board.
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