JUNIOR Minister Aisling Reilly paid a visit to Tús Úr – Fresh Beginnings – praising the project for the crucial support it provides to people and families dealing with drug and alcohol misuse in West Belfast.
Based within the Upper Springfield Development Trust, Tús Úr offers one-to-one addiction support, mental-health guidance, family interventions and a range of practical and therapeutic services designed to help people stabilise their lives. The project takes a holistic approach, recognising the links between substance use, trauma, poverty and mental health, and works closely with families as well as individuals.
During her visit Aisling met staff delivering the service and heard how demand has continued to grow. She said she was “really impressed” by the commitment of the team, describing Tús Úr as “a vital anchor for people who often feel they’ve no one to turn to".
Ms Reilly highlighted the importance of the project’s wrap-around model, noting that recovery “is far more sustainable when people have support not just for themselves, but for the loved ones who are affected alongside them".
She added that community-based services like Tús Úr “play a key role in helping people move away from crisis and towards stability,” and said the work being done on the ground “has a real and lasting impact on people’s lives".
Staff at the project welcomed the Minister’s visit, saying it helped draw attention to both the scale of local need and the essential role that frontline community organisations continue to play
