The Minister of State for Mental Health, Mary Butler, has announced €1.3 million in recurring funding to provide a Crisis Resolution Team in Co Donegal, including a Solace Café.
The Crisis Resolution Team will be a community-based multidisciplinary team that will provide rapid assessment and intensive support to adults experiencing mental health crises.
The team will have the flexibility to respond to different service user or carer needs. They will use a blended approach to the location of treatment - with a mix of care in the home or community settings, offering an alternative to inpatient admission.
The funding announcement will support the recruitment of 10 whole-time equivalent staff, led by a consultant psychiatrist.
Minister Butler said it was a major step forward for mental health care in Donegal that followed a request by staff in the country for a crisis resolution service.
"Through the expansion of community alternatives such as crisis resolution teams and crisis cafés, we are fundamentally changing how we respond to the needs of people in distress."
This crisis resolution model of care was launched two years ago. Crisis cafés - called Solace Cafés - provide an out-of-hours friendly and supportive crisis prevention and response service.
The Solace Café in Donegal will be one of eight nationwide that are often open in the evenings and at weekends.
Services that will be offered at the café will include crisis intervention and crisis prevention, through an informal safe space where people feel comfortable seeking help.
When appropriate, café staff will assist people by signposting them to other relevant mental health and well-being services locally.
HSE Integrated Healthcare Area Manager Donegal Dermot Monaghan said the funding is a vital step in delivering community-based mental health care.
"The new team and the Solace Café will provide real-time local support to people at their most vulnerable."
