“I was trusted, brought into conversations about what direction I wanted my professional career to go, supported and encouraged to follow, what I didn't even realize I was good at.”
That feeling has been created by a multitude of things: the full time staff, the tutors, the progression programme participants. Before getting into the good bits, the bits why I really love it, I'll talk about the boring stuff, the necessary stuff. Before finding myself on the Aiseiri progression programme I had no motivation to educate myself in any way shape or form, no CV to show, no household skills, no computer skills, no path, and no ambition. After 2 years I have all these things and much, much more. But like I said that's the boring stuff.
"They believe in the person sitting across from them."
The real stuff, the real reason why I love "The Mall" is simple. Trust. I was trusted, brought into conversations about what direction I wanted my professional career to go, supported and encouraged to follow, what I didn't even realize I was good at. Drama modules, facilitation modules, personal and interpersonal modules, train the trainer and a 6-month stint in what's regraded the best acting school in Ireland, the programme was made for me to be successful. Yet... I'm not the only success story, so that means the work that Mick, Phil, Sarah and many more put in with me, they put that in with everyone. They believe in the person sitting across from them. Blind stupid trust! It's a beautiful thing. The Mall is more than an education programme to me. The Mall is the most important part of Aiseiri in my opinion. Getting clean is easy, staying clean is the hard part and the support to stay clean and live a somewhat enjoyable life is given to you in the Mall.
"The Mall is more than a building, the Mall is a warm feeling, it's a text when you’re on the town alone, it's a shoulder to cry on, it's a motivator, it's a best mate, a laugh, a cry, a test, it’s home."
I found who I always wanted to be in The Mall. I'm a good person today because of it, because Sarah told me one day "You're gonna be great" and I allowed myself to believe her. Because Mick put in his time and effort to get me the training to then say to me "You're our Drama Tutor now". Because the people who come through that building are nothing but nice, we are a weird little family that just want equal success for each other and I'll always be part of it, even though I'm no longer a progression participant they'll always be family to me. I'll be forever in debt to the people in that building yet they’ll never ask me to repay it. The Mall is more than a building, the Mall is a warm feeling, it's a text when you’re on the town alone, it's a shoulder to cry on, it's a motivator, it's a best mate, a laugh, a cry, a test, it’s home. And it's always open. There is no word to describe how lucky I feel to have been a part of that place.