• Pavee Point hosted a workshop at the Connecting for Life conference at Croke Park which was aimed at service providers in Dublin North City and County.
    Pavee Point hosted a workshop at the Connecting for Life conference at Croke Park which was aimed at service providers in Dublin North City and County.
  • Patrick Reilly, Mental Health Worker with Bianca Paun, Roma Programme speak about health inequalities at UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
    Patrick Reilly, Mental Health Worker with Bianca Paun, Roma Programme speak about health inequalities at UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
  • Unpacking Traveller Mental Health was an exhibition explain how mental health issues impact on Travellers using the traditional Traveller grub box as a form of expression.
    Unpacking Traveller Mental Health was an exhibition explain how mental health issues impact on Travellers using the traditional Traveller grub box as a form of expression.
  • The social determinants game highlights the barriers that Travellers face in achieving positive mental health.
    The social determinants game highlights the barriers that Travellers face in achieving positive mental health.

The Pavee Point Mental Health Initiative, funded by the Traveller Health Unit in the Eastern Region, works at a local, regional and national level to progress equality of access, participation and outcomes for Travellers in mainstream mental health services.

In working towards addressing mental health inequalities experienced by Travellers the Mental Health Initiative prioritises the following objectives in our work:

  • Maintaining and promoting positive mental health and wellbeing for Travellers – See our comprehensive leaflet Pavees Worried About Suicide and also Suicide Prevention Leaflet.

  • Creating and developing Traveller access and outcomes from mainstream mental health services

  • Development of culturally competent, accessible and appropriate mental health services

  • Impacting on policy and research.  See our project  Unpacking Traveller Mental Health

What we do

Working from a social determinants of mental health perspective and embedding community development principles in our work the mental health initiative adopts a two pronged: mainstreaming and targeted approach to work in partnership with both Traveller organisations and statutory representatives.

See our video on the impact of lack of Traveller accommodation on Traveller mental health, produced in collaboration with SpunOut.ie 

Policy and Advocacy

We engage in policy and advocacy work to ensure that mental health strategies and policies are inclusive of, and responsive to, Traveller and Roma mental health inequalities.

We work alongside Traveller organisations to:

  • develop a collective analysis of impacts on Traveller mental health

  • provide support with responding to mental health inequalities within the Traveller community

  • develop targeted responses to Traveller mental health information and signposting needs.

Work with Service Providers

We also work in partnership with statutory representatives and mental health service providers to:

  • Inform their analysis of Traveller mental health inequalities through advocacy work

  • develop their capacity to effectively engage with Travellers accessing and utilising mental health services through providing training on models of best practice

  • to promote and develop innovative, appropriate responses that ensure equality of access, participation and outcomes for all Travellers

Contact the mental health team:

  • Patrick Reilly (Traveller Mental Health Joint  Co ordinator) patrick.reilly@pavee.ie

  • Geraldine McDonnell (Traveller Community Development Mental Health Worker) geraldine.mcdonnell@pavee.ie