Ennis Lions Club were proud and delighted to officially hand over a cheque for €40,000 last Thursday to Mags Nash, Manager of Bushypark Addiction Treatment Centre and Catriona Lavelle, CEO Clarecare for the development of their Family and Wellness Centre. The funds were raised largely through their online auction, held in partnership with Clare FM, in 2022. That auction raised €30,343.00, and the balance of funding was donated from previously raised Ennis Lions Club funds. The Bushypark Family & Wellness Centre will offer extended services to families impacted by a loved one’s substance misuse or addiction related negative behaviours and provides additional support for families who have engaged with Bushypark Addiction Treatment Centre residential programme. The Auction team were shown around the extended and refurbished premises where there are group, couples and individual counselling and treatment rooms. Lion David Goodstein, Auction Project Leader, declared seeing what Bushypark had achieved with the funding really brought home to the team what the auction was about – so incentivising as they head into Auction 2023
Also at the cheque hand over were Padraic Flaherty, Director of Operations, and Ronan MacManamy, CEO, of Clare FM who were pivotal in partnering with Ennis Lions Club to run the online Auction. They both expressed how successful it was and how important such active community support is to Clare FM. Ronan declared they are enthusiastically looking forward to Auction 2023, for which initial meetings have already taken place.
Mags Nash discussed the value of their wellness centre facility to the families of persons impacted by alcohol, drug or gambling use. The centre is a space where all of the family can be helped to understand substance mis-use/addiction and learn to cope and to make positive changes with their own lives. In particular she pointed out that family members have no control over the behaviours or decisions their significant adults make in relation to substance abuse/addiction, or negative behaviors of an addicted sibling/child or friend, all of which affect their day to day living, and psychological wellbeing. They need to be given an opportunity to voice their own perspective, anxieties and traumas in a safe place, either with peers in support group sessions or alone with a counsellor.
Bushypark have longer term development plans which will further provide for families’ wellbeing alongside enhanced services for addicted persons or substance misusers. While alcohol abuse has been a long-time issue Bushypark services are seeing significant levels of drug abuse, particularly cocaine, presenting for services and support. They continue to need funding and support to grow their services to meet that increasing demand. Ennis Lions Club and Clare FM recognise the services are being provided to our own, people we know and care about in our locality, and are committed to helping Bushypark into the future.
Paul Watson, President, Ennis Lions Club echoed that sentiment as he paid tribute to the people of Clare for their support both as donors and bidders in last year’s Auction. ‘The Lions Motto of ‘We Serve’ cannot be fulfilled without that support from the wider community. Our Auction in 2022 certainly did serve this community and we look forward to another great fundraiser in 2023’.