The Carers Liaison and Support Service (CLASS) is a one to one peer support service for 30 carers and family members of service users who require the intervention of the Community Mental Health Teams in Sligo, Leitrim, and South Donegal. CLASS is a joint project between The Carers Association, Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Service and the Steering Committee. Funding is provided by Genio. The CLASS project offers a service which is a direct alternative to inpatient treatment. The project seeks to support family carers to facilitate care in the home, early discharge, and less frequent admissions to acute care.
Carers experience a considerable demand when their loved one is in an acute or early stage of their illness. These demands impose considerable emotional and operational burden on daily family life. In the CLASS programme, Carers are matched with volunteers, who meet with them between one and four times for one to one emotional support and listening. The volunteers provide information to carers as required, in relation to coping mechanisms, community connectors and working with the mental health services. This support enables carers/family members to continue to support their loved ones in the home, while taking account of their own well-being. The service users’ recovery is thereby strengthened, leading to less strain on inpatient services, and supporting the move towards home/community based treatment, in line with Vision for Change:
” Family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and community members are important sources of support for service users and have their own unique insight into mental ill health and the provision of mental health services. Carers report that they themselves need services such as the provision of education, information and support. Innovative methods of involving carers/families in the recovery process need to be developed by local mental health services”
Become A CLASS Volunteer!
Carer Liaison and Support Service
Have you supported a Loved One, Relative, or Friend through a Mental Health Crisis?
Are you a good listener?
Can you give one hour a week?
CLASS is recruiting Volunteers to provide peer support to carers and family members who are experiencing mental health difficulties with a loved one.
Training is Provided
For Further Information Contact:
Jane Ó Fiannachta,
CLASS Coordinator, The Carers Association,
No 9 Castle House, Castle Street, Sligo
Tel: 086-8188716
E-mail: jofiannachta@carersireland.com
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear… all of which have the potential to turn a life around… “
Leo Buscaglia
CLASS is a joint project between The Carers Association, Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Service and the Steering Committee. Funding is provided by Genio.
CLASS Volunteer Role Description