Ways to Wellbeing

Important Partners

Walk in My Shoes at St Patrick`s Mental Health Services

Impact

• 306 students were connected within six schools with elderly members of the community
• 30 projects were uploaded to School Portal, an online free and secure platform for Ireland schools to showcase mental health resources (first of its kind)
• Projects exhibited in a digital display in St Patrick’s University Hospital in February 2022 — with Ways To Wellbeing now being scaled nationally

Ways to Wellbeing was one of the five winning proposals selected for the first call for pilots launched in March 2021, which addressed three key community needs that had been previously identified with the Community Survey: mental health; population health management; and Covid-19 impact. 

Ways to Wellbeing is an intergenerational community engagement initiative, aimed to boost the well-being and mental health of elderly people by giving them the chance to connect with young people in their community in a meaningful way. 

Students of both primary and secondary schools in the locality were asked to explore tips for a mentally healthy life, how to build resilience and important life lessons from the older people they were linked with.  

They were invited to interview family members from the Dublin 8 area, write letters to day centres or nursing homes, and utilise a range of mediums for conversation within the intergenerational engagement. 

Then they created engaging projects through different mediums, from podcasts and films to written stories and photos, to share these learnings.  

It aimed to connect students with elderly members of the Dublin 8 community to foster local connections and learn about mental health and well-being.  

Smart D8 welcomes expanded project partnerships with institutions, enterprise, universities, and experts alongside community representatives. Contact us at info@smartd8.ie