ATTIC YOUTH CAFÉ

The Cafe is opened every lunch time from 12:30pm to 2pm Monday to Friday and after school on Wednesdays from 3pm to 5pm, as well as at weekends for organised events such as band nights and discos.

The Foróige Attic Youth Cafe was established in November 2006. The idea for the cafe was brought about by the Temperance Hall management committee who, after extensive renovation work in the Hall, wanted to have a dedicated youth space for the young people of Longford town and surrounding areas. The room which is upstairs in the Hall was decorated by the youth committee at that time. Weekends took on a new meaning and teenagers were soon building their weekends around events in the Attic. The cafe initially opened every Saturday from 4 – 8pm however this soon changed as demand increased.

In 2008 the youth committee hosted a talent competition which came in the form of Longford Youth Factor, or LY Factor as it has become more commonly known, so that the young people of Longford would have a safe place to socialise and show off their talents, while raising money for the café and other local charities along the way. The LY Factor was held over a number of weeks and raised a total of €8500, much of which was donated to Special Olympics Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, and the Aisling Children’s Festivals. The live finals took place during January and February 2009 and the scenes of young and old queuing to get in are still talked about. LY Factor 2010 auditions have already begun and the live finals begin in January 2010.

The success of the LY factor led volunteers and the youth committee to even greater success as they were entered into the Permanent TSB Foróige Youth Citizenship Awards 2009. Full of pride and excitement they won the overall award at a prestigious ceremony held in the Helix DCU in October.

In the past year the cafe received a full-time worker, a drug education and prevention worker. Roisin is based in the Attic but funded by the Midland Regional Drugs Task Force and this initiative aims to prevent young people miss using drugs and alcohol. As part of this initiative there is a girls’ health & well-being group on Wednesdays from 4.10-6.00pm, a drug awareness group on Thursdays from 4.10-6.00pm and a drug education & prevention programme on Thursday evenings from 6.30-8.00pm.