Launch of Walk Peer Programme in Bellingham Castle

  I was delighted to attend the official launch of the WALK PEER Programme which seeks to support young people with disabilities between 16-24 years in achieving education and training and ultimately sustainable employment.  Minister Joan Burton officially launched the programme, which is scheduled to run until early 2015, in Bellingham Castle.  It was indeed an honour to attend the launch  and meet the fantastic team for the Louth WALK PEER programme.  The WALK PEER programme is a great local and social project as it affords young people with disabilities the opportunity to access routes of education, training and employment and most importantly it helps them to discover their own potential and abilities. Programmes such as WALK PEER provide an extremely valuable service to local young people with disabilities as it sets them on a path to realise goals and sets them on a course to achieve further opportunity after school has finished.  The programme is person-centred and taps into what the individual wants while working with existing local bodies to help best realise what is appropriate for that person. School leavers with disabilities often have fewer choices once they are finished with their secondary school education.  PEER WALK begins working with these teenagers early on to help develop an avenue of employment.  It is crucial to the well-being of many people in our society that they become active in the jobs market and their local community--this programme creates the opportunity to access both in an otherwise narrow prospects.