Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, welcomed the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to its service in Summerhill, Dublin 1, during an official visit to Ireland with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The First Lady visited Jigsaw to learn more about how Ireland supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people, particularly through accessible, early-intervention, community-based services. The visit forms part of her wider humanitarian mission to develop strengthened youth mental health supports in Ukraine.
During her time at Jigsaw Summerhill, Mrs Zelenska met members of the Jigsaw leadership and board, youth advocates and local service users, who shared their experiences of supporting young people’s mental health challenges and the importance of timely intervention.
Speaking after the visit, Dr Joseph Duffy, CEO of Jigsaw, said:
“We were honoured to welcome the First Lady to our service today. Her deep commitment to the wellbeing of young people, particularly in the context of the profound challenges facing Ukrainian families, is inspiring.
“At Jigsaw, we believe that every young person deserves support that is early, accessible, and grounded in their community. We were proud to share our model, our approach, and, most of all, how the voices of young people shape what we do.
“We stand ready to collaborate and share our learnings with colleagues in Ukraine and internationally, in the hope that our experience can contribute in some small way to supporting young people living through extraordinarily difficult times.
“It was crystal clear to everyone in the room that the issue of youth mental health and wellbeing is of utmost important to the First Lady.”
Mrs Zelenska expressed appreciation for the opportunity to see the Irish model in practice and discussed her ambition to expand youth-focused mental health infrastructure across Ukraine, particularly as young people navigate trauma, displacement, and ongoing uncertainty.
The visit underscores growing international recognition of Ireland’s youth mental health approach and highlights Jigsaw’s role as a leader in early-intervention mental health support.
Jigsaw Youth Advocate and board member Sarah Whelan said:
“It was a fantastic opportunity to speak to the First Lady of Ukraine about the fantastic work Jigsaw does. Jigsaw places youth voice central to the work that is done at all levels, I look forward to watching the foundation grow – and partnering with young people in Ukraine in the future.”
Through the work of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, the First Lady shares many of Jigsaw’s values and today’s visit focussed on learning, information sharing and collaboration. Areas of discussions included emerging global models of primary care youth mental health, clinical staff and governance, funding models and evolution, youth and community engagement, school supports and more.
The visit comes as plans continue to roll out ‘Youth Spaces 12-21’, a Olena Zelenka Foundation initiative in Ukraine, aimed at creating spaces that combine individual and group psychological assistance, career counselling, leisure-time activities across the Ukraine.
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Notes to the Editor:
- This visit has come about due to Mrs Zelenska’s interest in young people’s mental health and her desire and that of her foundation https://zelenskafoundation.org/en to develop a Jigsaw type service across Ukraine – see https://zelenskafoundation.org/en/projects/youth-spaces
