Depression, isolation, addiction to legal highs, post-traumatic stress and difficulties with finding employment.

These are just some of the issues local organisation, Boost, has been helping Fermanagh’s young people overcome since it was established two years ago.

The pilot programme, based at the New Horizons Centre, focuses on promoting positive mental health for ages 16 to 25, building up young people’s confidence and helping them to re-engage with society again.

Andrew* (name has been changed to protect his identity), a father in his early 20s, suffers from post-traumatic stress.

He has been attending Boost and its core organisation, New Horizons for 10 months now.

Although the group has been helping him rebuild his life since his world was turned upside down, he is still struggling to cope with the impact and the repercussions of his traumatic experience.

Up until that point, his mental health was perfectly fine.

“Before all of this, if someone had told me they were depressed I would have said ‘what are you depressed about?’,” he acknowledges.

“I didn’t really appreciate what it was like to go through something like this. But services like Boost are so important.” Andrew suffers from flashbacks and has trouble sleeping.

“I could tell you the exact time that it all happened,” he says, “And it just changed things forever for me.

“Now, I have good days and bad days.

“I was working full-time in engineering before this happened. I couldn’t work at the minute -- I just wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

“I miss work though -- I would like to get back to that at some point.” A father to a baby boy, Andrew explains that his relationship with his son’s mother broke down after ‘the event’.

“I just didn’t want to go out anywhere, I didn’t want to do anything,” he recalls, “Boost has taken me out of the house. I am not thinking as much about everything that happened. And I have met so many people through this place.” According to project co-ordinator, Sean Connolly, a key focus for Boost is to set out a routine for young people and to help them reach achievable goals.

Asked what his goal is, Andrew replies: “I just want to get back to normal again. But I know that will take time.

“I enjoy fitness, so I have been able to use all the gym equipment at the New Horizons Centre.

“But I haven’t been at it these last few weeks to tell you the truth.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to get yourself motivated.” Although Andrew is having a particularly hard time now, Sean is confident that he will be able to turn things around.

“He is a very capable lad. The thing about Boost is, we don’t want to see anyone here long-term.

“It is all about a process of recovery. We aim to get them back out into society again.

“So that they don’t become dependent on mental health services. We want them to move on and be independent again.

“For most of them, that will be the case. But it is so important to remember that everyone is different and everyone moves at their own pace.” Boost has also provided Fermanagh’s young people with the tools to seek employment.

“A lot of the young people who come here are not up to mainstream education,” Sean explains, “They are just not confident enough.

“We not only help them work on their social skills but help them get the qualifications they want to improve their employability.

“We had one individual who came here. He had been out of education for two years and throughout that whole time had been basically housebound.

“He was around 18. Within a short space of time he was able to get maths, English and IT qualifications here.

“College can be overwhelming for young people, particularly if they suffer from depression or have mental health issues. It can be very impersonal to them. But here, they get a lot of one-to-one personal support.” Through Boost, 25-year-old Danielle is working towards her goal of attending college.

“I had been depressed since 2010,” she explains, “I was suffering from low self-esteem. And I have learning difficulties.

“I was just staying at home, staring at four walls. But then I came to Boost and it helped me feel much better.

“I have been living on my own now for two years and I have a dog -- she is my baby!

“I have my own responsibilities and I have been able to do work placements too.

“So I have a good idea of the responsibilities that come along with a job. I would like to find work in childcare.” Every Thursday members of Boost attend ‘The Hang Out’ in Enniskillen.

Claire* (name changed) particularly enjoys Thursday mornings with Boost.

“I like playing pool, hanging out, talking and just relaxing,” she says.

“I don’t have any friends so it’s nice to come and be with people my own age.

“I initially came here because I was feeling lonely and bored. I quit my job and I was sitting at home all the time. “It got to the point that I just stopped caring about things.

“But now I have made a lot of friends.

“Through Boost, I go swimming, the girls here get pampering sessions and we do archery, badminton and go away on trips.” According to Sean, in just two years, Boost has managed to make positive changes so many young lives in Fermanagh.

“A lot of the young people who come here have struggled with addiction to legal highs,” he explains, “They just get them off the internet.

“But I have seen for myself the difference Boost has made.

“In the first run of the programme, 25 per cent of the young people moved on to further education, one moved on to university and another moved into employment.” Dave Bruce, a social care practice student in Sligo, works closely with Boost’s young people each week.

“We have focused on self-advocacy in the past,” he explains, “Looking at young people’s rights and responsibilities, explaining how they can access different services.

“Basically just give them that little bit of knowledge so they can be reinfranchised into society.

“It is remarkable how one incident in a person’s life can really put everything on hold for them. But through games and the different courses at Boost, the young people are interacting and drawing out their social skills.

“I would encourage any parent, teacher, youth worker or even somebody who is concerned for a friend to look into Boost.

“It could make such a difference to someone’s life.”