Permission from hospital authorities to open the meeting came after Dennis submitted LifeRing print materials and spoke personally with clinical staff members.
St. Patrick's is a private non-profit mental hospital that prides itself on its up-to-date methods and facilities. It is also a very historic place, having been founded in 1745 by a grant from the great English satirist Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), who left his estate to found a hospital "for fools and mad." It was the first mental hospital in Ireland and is one of the oldest in the world. More.
The hospital is Ireland's largest independent mental health service provider. Besides clinical services, it promotes mental health education and is an advocate for the rights of the mentally ill. St. Patrick's was also the site of the first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Ireland.
4 comments:
The meeting in St. Patrick's started a week early. Our first meeting was 1 October 2009. We had an attendance of 15 people. Two of us were from outside the St. Patrick's system. Very smooth meeting with lots of crosstalk and sharing.
Last week I gave a lecture based on LifeRing 101 to the clients. It was attended by a small but enthusiastic group of residents several of whom attended the first meeting.
I have just found out about LifeRing today and am so happy that an Alternative to AA has come to Ireland. While AA has helped so many people I have heard so many stories from people in recovery who AA does not suit they feel a sense of failure if they cannot complete the 12 steps and get into the "higher power" idea. I hope in the future there will be many LifeRing meetings around Ireland that people can go to and really believe it can make a HUGE difference to peoples lives.
I have just found out about LifeRing today and am so happy that an Alternative to AA has come to Ireland. While AA has helped so many people I have heard so many stories from people in recovery who AA does not suit they feel a sense of failure if they cannot complete the 12 steps and get into the "higher power" idea. I hope in the future there will be many LifeRing meetings around Ireland that people can go to and really believe it can make a HUGE difference to peoples lives.
Well, St. Patrick's has now included the LifeRing meeting on their web site under volunteer organization and events.
This gives lots of credibility to the meeting and LifeRing in general in Ireland.
Thank you St. Patrick's for your support and confidence.
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