Local service falls victim to cutbacks

IT’S feared that the closure of a vital youth support service in Finglas will lead to increased teenage pregnancies and drug and alcohol addiction in the local community.

The Active Parenting Service, which has been run by the Fingal Centre on Mellows Road for the last 12 years, provides a range of educational support to young people in Finglas.

The service is run by part-time worker Niamh Dowdall who carries out sexual health courses, drug and alcohol awareness programmes and parenting skills classes for teenage mothers.

However, the service, which deals with more than 300 people per year, will cease at the end of this year due to a lack of funding.

The City of Dublin Youth Service Board (CDYSB) has withdrawn the e30,000 needed to finance the course due to its own cash restraints caused by reduced Government funding.

The closure of the service will have a significantly detrimental effect on the community, according to Ms Dowdall.

“We offer crucial support to help the young community and without the service I believe there will be an increase in teenage pregnancies because of a lack of sexual health programmes for those most at risk,

? Ms Dowdall told Northside People.

“The Active Parenting Service covers a multitude and we actually have a waiting list of people who want to access the service.

“We run a joint project with Barnardos to help young mums and give them the information and education they need to raise their children.

“Barnardos feel they won’t have anyone experienced enough to offer this type of programme once our service closes.

“We have a huge waiting list of people referred to us from their public health nurse which shows now more than ever how much our service is needed.

?

She added:

“We are struggling, as are many other charitable organisations in the current economic climate, but if we are not adequately funded to deliver such vital services to the people of Finglas we will see a much greater negative social impact on people who are already marginalised in the community.

?

The service has launched an awareness campaign to highlight the work it does in the community..

Single mum Lizzy Byrne, from Finglas, credits the Active Parenting Service for arming her with the skills she needed to cope with being a mum at 18-years-of-age.

“I’m absolutely devastated that the service will be closing because I know first-hand how much of a life saviour it can be,

? she explained.

“I first went to the service for baby massage because my son had Colic and it made a really big difference.

“From there I joined the parenting programme where I learned so much about how to be a mother and care for my child.

“As you can imagine, not many of my friends had kids when I had my son so I had no one to go to for advice and support until I started the parenting course.

“I was still a kid myself practically and I knew very little about being a mother.

“The service has helped me in nearly all other aspects of my life by directing me to where I could go for help with housing and welfare.

?

Local councillor Steve Wren (Lab) appealed to the CDYSB to reinstate the funding required to continue Active Parenting Service.

“It would be a disgrace to lose such a crucial service,

? he said.

“The loss to the community would be substantial and the future consequences of losing courses on drug and alcohol addiction as well as sexual health will be far more than the e30,000 needed to keep the course going.

?

Mary Mooney, director of the City of Dublin Youth Service Board, said the Fingal Centre had been made aware of its inability to continue to fund the service last year.

“The Fingal Centre has been aware for some time that this day was coming,

? she told Northside People.

“Since 2008 our own funding from the Government has been cut from e20 million to e12 million so we’ve had to make significant cuts.

“We have had to find

?¬800,000 worth of savings this year and as such we have had to prioritise the funding of youth work projects.

“The Active Parenting Service does not fall into this category. It’s more in the remit of the public health nurse.

“Last year we met with the Fingal Centre and indicated that while we could fund the service for 2012 we could not do so from 2013 and we confirmed this with them again in September.

?

Ms Mooney explained how the City of Dublin Youth Service Board provides funding to the tune of

?¬800,000 for youth projects in Finglas such as the Youth Resource Centre and the Den Centre.