Demands on Family Resource Centres at all-time high

The number of visits to Ireland’s 106 FRCs has increased by 50 per cent in the three-year period since 2010 as families and individuals continue to struggle in the aftermath of the global economic downturn.

The centres, now run under the auspices of Tulsa, are located primarily in disadvantaged areas throughout Ireland, and work to provide early-intervention child and family supports.
Last year, the centres had a total of 290,793 visitor contacts, compared to 193,000 in 2010.
FRCs delivered almost 143,000 interventions last year, ranging from assistance with form-filling to family mediation services.

The Family Resource Centres National Forum (FRCNF) published the results of its annual report as part of a presentation organised and facilitated by Senator Imelda Henry to members of the Oireachtas earlier this month.

Speaking at the event, the chairperson of the FRCNF, Karin Jonsson, said:

“Family Resource Centres are community-based and community-focused. The services and supports that we offer respond to the needs of the people who cross our threshold.

“The different phases of Ireland’s economic downturn have had a profound impact on the families and communities in which we are located.

“Six years ago, we became inundated with people whose jobs were at risk and those who had lost employment.

“Then, issues of debt and debt management took hold. More recently, we have been dealing with the impacts of long-term unemployment on communities.

“Throughout all of this, what has remained consistent is our approach. We have kept the needs of our communities central to our work-plans and outputs, and we have concentrated on early-intervention work to prevent people’s problems from becoming more complex.

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The Family Resource Centres on the Southside have reported that their areas of work continued to expand last year.

While many continue to offer daily interventions like assisting a person with accessing social welfare information or completing a form, the majority of FRCs are innovating in the delivery of family supports and community development measures.

“We have developed resilient and far-reaching programmes that are now acceptable and sought after by our communities,

? explained Ms Jonsson.

“These include parenting programmes, counselling and family mediation services, after-school activities and homework clubs.

“All of these programmes provide stressed families with some support that can prevent them from becoming deeply troubled.

“Some of our most recent innovations, which reflect new realities in our society, include support groups for young fathers in recovery from addiction; help and advice sessions for grandparents bringing up their grandchildren; and support groups for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered youth.

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In 2013, FRCs provided over 30,000 learning opportunities. These included accredited training opportunities that directly enhanced a person’s ability to access employment. Other opportunities included community education courses aimed at giving people the positive experience and renewed confidence to explore further education.

However, Family Resource Centres have experienced a freeze in funding since 2008, and since 2011 have received a year-on-year budgetary reduction of five per cent in core funding, as well as cuts from other sources such as HSE, ETB’s National Lottery and the Department of Social Protection. Supporters say further cuts would take away some important early interventions that could cost the State – and families – significantly into the future.

“We have demonstrated that we are a versatile and responsive model of providing family and child support,

? Ms Jonsson added.

“We receive an annual fund of under

?¬13.5 million for the network of 106 FRCs around the country.

That’s a relatively small investment, for such a significant return. Our work saves the State in the long term, as dealing with families in crisis is costly and has far more repercussions for the parents and children involved.

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