Journalist's first-hand experience on JobPath

PARTING COMPANY WITH TURAS NUA

- "Potentially, I was a poster boy for their endeavours"

BY BEN PANTER

What is it like to spend a year on JobPath? 

We recognise the importance of hearing from people experiencing disadvantage or discrimination.
Many have no doubt found JobPath worked for them, but despite statistics that point to low levels of complaints, the 'labour activation' programme seems to dissatisfy many. 

It has been debated at the highest levels in the Dáil, however nobody in that chamber has the first hand experience that Ben Panter was able to bring to the table. 

- Editor

FULL TEXT OF BEN PANTER'S ARTICLE, as published in the current edition of 'Changing Ireland' (available through Easons):

Jon was ecstatic – The Community Employment (CE) Scheme had offered him a role as a carer, enabling him to achieve his lifelong vocation, after a period of unemployment. Days later his tone had changed.

“Because I am with Turas Nua, I am not allowed to take the job,” he said.

I thought he was joking, but alas no. A place on a CE scheme is not a job.

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YOUNG DADS LEARN THE ROPES

TEEN PARENTING

Read the full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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 YOUNG DADS LEARN THE ROPES 

BY CIAN MATTHEW KEARNS

  When you hear the words “teen parent” the mind jumps to a scared young girl and an absent father. Yet, this is often not the case. 

Young dads from Ballyfermot discovered inner strengths 

and also that there’s no mountain, never mind any hill, 

that they can’t climb. These are not trips for the faint-hearted or softies!

A 2012 study by Crisis Pregnancy revealed that, in general, adolescent males who are parents believe they should take responsibility for the pregnancy and not leave everything up to their girlfriend (where applicable). Furthermore, given a range of preferences for the future, 38% of those surveyed wanted to stay with their girlfriend and raise the baby together. While surprising to some, this reflects reality. Almost a third of young parents are already cohabiting. 

Margaret Morris, co-ordinator of the national ‘Teen Parents Support Programme’, explains that keeping fathers involved in their child’s life is crucial, even if their parents’ relationship has ended.

MOTHER AND SISTER OF LATE CLODAGH HAWE LAUNCH FUND FOR WOMEN’S AID 

Read the full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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The mother and sister of Clodagh Hawe 

who was murdered in her home last year 

alongside her three sons Liam, Niall and 

Ryan, have set up a fund in their memory, 

with all proceeds going to Women’s Aid.

The aim is to raise at least €50,000. “Clodagh was strong and beautiful inside and out and was so loving,” wrote Clodagh’s mother Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly. 

 “She was warm, loving, bright and capable and she was bringing her boys Liam, Niall and Ryan, up to have those same qualities. We want their deaths to help other women who are living in fear and isolation in their own homes.”

 “Please support our fundraising appeal for Women’s Aid. One in five women in Ireland experience domestic abuse and many women are isolated and alone,” said Mary and Jacqueline. The four were killed on August 31st by their husband and father Alan Hawe who afterwards killed himself.

Donations can be made online through this page: 

https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/in-memory-of-clodagh-liam-niall-and-ryan

FEMICIDE

209 WOMEN'S DEATHS

COMMEMORATED DURING

16 DAYS OF ACTION

  By December, 209 women had been murdered in Ireland since 1996 when Women’s Aid began recording figures. 

Marking the annual ‘16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women’, Margaret Martin, director of Women’s Aid said: 

“Femicide must not be accepted as a fact of life. Women should be safe in their homes and in their relationships. And we must recognise the strong connection between the killing of women and domestic violence.”

Community workers,
 Researchers and Minister size up 
barriers/solutions

BY ALLEN MEAGHER

Read the full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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The 2016 annual Pobal Conference was held in The Helix threatre, DCU, Dublin, on the day after the world learned that Donald Trump had won the US presidential election.

Given the platform on which he stood and how he tapped into alienation among the working poor and those on the margins, Pobal’s conference theme was apt: “Creating an Inclusive Labour Market”. 

Unemployment in Ireland fell to 7.2% by January of this year, 0.1% lower than in November, However, unemployment remains high for groups such as refugees, Travellers and people with low formal education, while people who are unemployed for more than three years (termed “very long-term unemployed”) face considerable barriers.

The audience/participants and the many guest speakers – too many to mention – identified barriers and sought solutions to make employment opportunities more socially inclusive. 

CROSS-BORDER PROJECTS ALREADY NEED MORE SUPPORT

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 BY ALLEN MEAGHER

Is the threat Brexit poses to communities being taken seriously?  

  Brexit poses a threat to the peace process on these islands. Support and funding for many community groups is at risk, despite the impact this could have.

   Anthony Soares (pictured right) told‘Changing Ireland’ in late 2016 that because of Brexit’s impact to date, cross-border projects already need more funding. And this was before political power-sharing collapsed at Stormont.

  In December, the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee deliberated on Brexit, saying an agreement should be drafted to “guarantee

open land borders and sea boundaries, support cross-border trade and preserve EU funding for cross-border projects”. The issue also received attention in December from the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, while An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has addressed the matter as being of the utmost concern.

The UK’s Brexit minister late last year visited Belfast and Dublin, meeting with political representatives and business leaders. He did not meet Community and Voluntary Sector representatives.

This sent out a strong signal to those in the Sector that the priority is trade, commerce and business.

“WE ARE SERIOUS AS A DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITIES”

BY ALLEN MEAGHER

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Community groups and interests can work outside the formal structures or within those structures and in many cases they are obliged to do the latter. In practice, many do both:

“We are serious as a Department of Communities,” Minister Simon Coveney 

assured people attending a ‘National Forum’ meeting for ‘Our Communities’, held in

November, in the great hall at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Answering the call,

community reps gathered to see about turning policy into practice that will work on the 

ground and deliver community-driven, bottom-up social inclusion.

Cover story - Look Good, Do Good! Entrepreneurs and their communities

Read the full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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COVER STORY

5 top Social Entrepreneurs in Dublin:

€45,000 handed out to spur on communities

Five thrilled winners were presented with €5,000 to €15,000 cheques as award winners in Social Enterprise on December 15. The awards were presented by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English.

   Minister English didn’t go away empty handed himself - he was presented with a hand-made navy-blue ‘House of Akina’ dickey-bow by project co-founder Lye Ogunsanya. Ryan Tubridy already wears one.

   The ceremony took place at the Hugh Lane Art Gallery in Dublin.The winners were: Re-create; The Yard at Solas Project; House of Aki-na; Aspire Productions; and Third Space.

   Dublin’s Social Enterprise Grant Scheme Awards was established in 2015 to raise awareness and reward the important work being done by Social Entrepreneurs in the city.

   At this year’s awards, a total of €45,000 was handed over to ve winning projects to further develop their operations and organisations.

   Evanne Kilmurray, CEO, Inner City Enterprise, said that social enterprises in the City “play a key role in rejuvenating many of the local communities and have long lasting impacts in terms of job creation and provision of real social services.”

   The awards help to showcase what social enterprise can achieve in our communities.

The scheme was launched “to address the gap for accessing funding for start up social enterprises” and Evanne said funding and mentoring makes “a vital di erence”.

   Minister English praised the important work done, saying: “Social Enterprise is the up and coming way to give ownership back to a community by delivering much needed local services in an e cient manner using self sustaining enterprises.”

PRIDE OF PLACE WINNERS 2016

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PRIDE OF 

PLACE WINNERS

   Pride of Place is an all-island competition that acknowledges the work that communities are doing all over the island of Ireland.
   “The competition is about showing respect and inclusion for every sector in our communities, young, old, rich or poor and creating communities to which the people are proud to say they belong,” says Tom Dowling, former Meath County Manager and Chairman and Founder of the Pride of Place Initiative.

C'mon lads, move over! Join the 50/50 by 2020 campaign!

Read the full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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WOMEN (NOT) IN POLITICS - THE 50/50 BY 2020 CAMPAIGN

 Gender still a glaring issue and women now campaigning locally and nationally

   The boards of national sports organisations were put under pressure in December to improve the gender balance.

   Punitive measures were talked about for organisations that failed to reach a 30% female quota, with some politicians in favour and others opposed to penalties.
   Despite women and girls playing soccer, rugby and Gaelic games, only one woman sits on the executive commitiees/boards of the FAI, IRFU and the GAA combined.
   Together, these three bodies shared €7.4m last year from the State for youth development alone and they oversee thousands of games annually involving women and girls.
  

WHAT SUPPORTS ARE THERE FOR RURAL UNEMPLOYED MEN?

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RURAL NEGLECT V. POTENTIAL 

WHAT SUPPORTS ARE THERE FOR RURAL UNEMPLOYED MEN?

Long-term unemployment can lead to “a lack of motivation and borderline depression”

 BY CIAN MATTHEW KEARNS

   Across rural Ireland, low quality jobs and unemployment have forced thousands of people into poverty. Yet, their suffering is rarely seen.

   Seamus Boland, CEO of Irish Rural Link, describes hidden poverty as, “the lack of opportunity available to people. It’s the falling off of services. It’s people who are getting themselves into poverty, not being able to afford basics, which you don’t really see.”

   He highlights how the problem is exasperated in rural areas: “You can travel around...and there’s no great signs of poverty there, whereas in urban you tend to see physical deterioration.”

   The figures back him up. Unemployment rates in rural Ireland continue to however around the 10% mark. In contrast, Dublin and the Mid-East score 8% and 6% respectively.

   Furthermore, a 2014 Survey on Income and Living Conditions found that almost one in five people in rural areas were at risk of poverty, compared to 15% living in urban settings. Although it might not be obvious, rural Ireland is still hurting.

   Boland says, “The solutions have to include developing much more micro-enterprises in the rural regions.” He points out that, collectively, small businesses are the largest employment providers in rural Ireland. More growth in enterprises means more local jobs and more sustainable rural communities.

SOLA: FOCUS ON ‘QUALITY’ TO ENSURE GREATER EQUALITY

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GOVERNANCE 

FOCUS ON ‘QUALITY’ TO ENSURE GREATER EQUALITY 

   The private sector is breathing down the neck of projects operating in the community sector and disability activists from around the country expressed strong views at Sola’s national symposium held at the University of Limerick, in December, REPORTS ALLEN MEAGHER.

SURFING + COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Read Cian's full article in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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SURFING FOR A LIVING

IN SIERRA LEONE

 BY CIAN MATTHEW KEARNS

   Sustainability is key in community development. Projects that last are ones with strong local foundations. Bureh Beach Surf Club in Sierra Leone is a great example of a community-led initiative using its resources to their best advantage. Here
a determined local effort, along with a little international support, made a big difference to a small, coastal community. And it was founded by an Irishman.
   

NO ‘DARKNESS INTO LIGHT’ WITHOUT GOOD SYSTEMS

Read more in Issue 56 - Winter 2016/’17 of ‘Changing Ireland’!

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NO ‘DARKNESS INTO LIGHT’ WITHOUT GOOD SYSTEMS, 
By Eamon Stack

   When an NGO grows, it needs to have systems in place to rates at appointments.

handle growth. Witness Pieta House’s ‘Darkness into Light’ walks which now see up to 120,000 people taking part annually.
   Pieta House has grown significantly since it was set up in 2006. It is a non-profit organisation providing a specialised treatment programme for people who have suicidal ideation or who participate in self- harming.
   Enclude has been involved with Pieta House since 2009 and has helped it to cope successfully with the growth.