The Out and About Association was set up as a voluntary organisation in Clontarf by Morny Murrihy, who was a community nurse in north Dublin. He noticed a gap in the delivery of services for people who suffered from anxiety conditions. Morny went about setting up a number of self help groups and at the time, he sought funding from the local Health Board and from the wider community. Self help support groups where set up around the country.
You don’t have to suffer alone
The ongoing development of the anxiety resource network (OANDA) is based on the experiences of the board of the organisation and is in keeping with the government Health Policy “Vision For Change” Dept. of Health & Children (2004). Two of the key recommendations in this policy are to “provide an effective community-based outreach care, and a comprehensive range of medical, psychological and social therapies relevant to the needs of service users and their family and the need for links between specialist mental health services, primary care services and voluntary groups that are supportive of mental health should be enhanced and formalised”