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Main Menu | Home | About Us you are here > News Archive | | Core Programmes Extras | Management Team / Board | Video | Links Southside Travellers Action Group Ltd. a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital Contact Us: Unit 5, St. Kieran's Enterprise Centre, Furze Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18 Email: info@ southsidetravellers.ie No: 335 043 Charity No: CHY 8518 |
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Centre Closed as Mark of Respect - Thursday, June 9th Please note, our Resource Centre in Sandyford will be closed on Thursday, June 9th to mark the passing of Elizabeth (Tootler) Cash who passed away on Tuesday after a long illness. All of us mourn the passing of this bright, spirited woman and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time. Mrs. Cash - seen on the right adorning the cover of our E-Zine - was one of the inspirations for our Get Vocal Programme.
Recent Presentations (12/05/2011) Over the past couple of weeks, we have made presentations to our recently reformed Community HEalth and Well-Being Programme Steering Group and the Froebel College "Diversity Dialogue" series. Participants have asked us to make them available on-line, so here goes. Click the link to download in .pdf format.
Community Health and Well-Being Programme (4/05/2011)
Froebel "Diversity Dialogue" Presentation (5/05/2011)
Preview of our Get Vocal Promo Video (11/04/2011)
As part of our Get Vocal Programme which supports the development of self advocacy initiatives for Older Travellers in Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown, our Programme Facilitator and Mary McDonagh (Programme Participant and Board Member) participated in training with DCTV. Click the imageto see the output from this, our new Get Vocal Promo video made completely in house with support from DCTV and Age and Opportunity. Well done to Niamh for co-ordinating the filming and shooting some of the footage. Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks Geraldine! (7/04/2011)
Today was Geraldine McDonagh's last day in Southside Travellers. Geraldine joined us two and a half years ago as Community Employment Scheme Supervisor and most recently took over the role of Resource Centre Manager. DUring her time she steered us safely through the very early Community Employment Scheme days and supported a significant number of community members to access real and meaningful training and development opportunities. She will be sorely missed, and the Board, team and community would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge her hard work and wish her the very best of luck as she moves on from us. Thanks Ger, stay in touch and enjoy the break.
Situations Vacant at Southside Travellers (7/04/2011)
Check out Activelink.ie next Thursday (April 14th) to see our Community Employment Scheme recruitment advertisement to fill the following positions:
Community Employment Scheme Supervisor Bus Driver Evening Security Officer Drugs Link Worker Administrative Assistant to the Director
Closing date for receipts of CV's for all positions will beThursday, April 28that 5pm. Southside Travellers is an equal opportunities employer and all posts will also be advertised onwww.fas.ie
"Aqua Aerobics" - What next for the Chill Out Zone Crew? (4/04/2011)
FAS Graduate Programme brings significant benefit to Southside Travellers (22/03/11)
Based in our Centre every day, she works with community members with physical or intellectual disabilities to maximise their independence at home and in their communities. Over the past two months, Aoife has worked closely with families around: - Assessing their homes to ensure they are appropriate for the occupants' health needs; - Discussing compensatory strategies to enable people to carry out activities of daily living; - Advising on alterations in the home that will make independent living easier and more comfortable; - Providing referrals on to other agencies in the community who can offer ongoing support Having access to this type of expertise has been of significant benefit to us, with many issues moving forward more swiftly than ever before.
TASK Group commence programme aimed at introducing them to places of public interest in Dublin (21/03/11)
One of the key issues identified during our TASK Programme development phase was their sense of distance or "exclusion" from many of the public spaces that members of the settled community often take for granted. Within the context of discussing this, our Programme team put together a four week programme aimed at introducing them to a number of places throughout the city. The Programme structure is simple - and links very well with the communications and living in a diverse society modules. Essentially, participants are provided with an opportunity to do some web-based research on a particular site of public interest, then we visit that place and afterwards we discuss their response.
Southside Travellers' Board makes Statement on Departmental Response to National Traveller Partnership Proposal from Traveller CDP Network (21/03/11) The Board of Southside Travellers Action Group would like to express their concern at the ways in which the (then) Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs has responded (March 4, 2011) to the proposal put forward by the Traveller CDP Network regarding the establishment of a National Traveller Partnership to oversee the Traveller focused elements of Local and Community Development Programme. During these challenging times, we must continue to work together and build upon the strengths of a movement that has been in place for over a quarter of a century....read full statement
January - April Resource Centre Programme now Available (4/02/11)
Our new January - April Rresource Centre Programme is now available, and again, we have increased our opening hours. Up to Christmas, our Centre was open until 8pm Monday to Thursday, closed at 4pm on Fridays and was open Saturday mornings from 11am to 1pm. January through April, we will be open until 10pm Monday to Thursday and continue the same hours as before on Friday and Saturday. Thanks to a great Resource Centre team, SOuthside Partnership and Electric Aid funding, we have been able to ensure this increase. Click the image to download the new Programme. In addition, our Community Health and Well-Being outreach work is also continuing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and our Get Vocal Programme outreach capacity has also improved. It's all go!!!
Meet the Candidates - Our Inaugural Active Citizenship Event - Monday, February 7th, 7.30pm
TASK ProgrammeTimetable now in place (3/2/2011) Following two weeks of pre-development work, our new TASK Programme participants are now actively engaged in a full time programme of accredited education and training inputs, ranging from core modules in computers, maths and communications to the AIRE Programme and Skincare. In addition, they are also participating in Life Coaching sessions with Isolde Norris from Koi Consulting (who has worked with men on our community employment scheme and our Management team) and groupwork. Their energy around the house is infectious and all staff and visitors now know the words to the latest chart hits - added value we call that! Click to download their timetable.
Occupational Therapist joins Community Health and Well-Being and Advocacy (AIM) Programme (3/2/2011) Southside Travellers is delighted to announce that Aoife Pollins, a fully trained and accredited Occupational Therapist, has joined the team for three months. Supported by the FAS Graduate Internship Programme, Aoife is now working closely with our Community Health and Well-Being Team, our AIM Programme and Get Vocal Programme to carry out Occupational Therapy and Quality of Life assessments with Travellers throughout Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown. She is also linking closely with the HSE and Traveller Housing Unit in DUn Laoghaire/Rathdown Council.
TASK (Training, Awareness, Skills and Knowledge) - Building for the Future in a real way (20/1/2011)
On Monday January 10th, 14 young Traveller adults came together to participate in our new TASK Programme. Focusing on providing opportunities for young Travellers to develop their education and training potential, the Programme is a full time Local Training Initiative funded by FAS and the VEC's. Speaking at the end of the first day, Programme Manager Carol Connors said "these young adults have experienced real exclusion in their education, many leaving before Junior Cert. Our real TASK is to deal with that exclusion, to create a space where they can fulfil their potential. Many of us now working here in Southside Travellers were once like them."
Working closely with the Young People's team and our Bean an Ti, the first two weeks have focused on induction, groupwork, personal development and educational assessment. In tandem, they have all completed a basic first aid programme and just today finished their health and safety requirement. From Monday January 24th, the programme proper will begin, with VEC and external tutors providing accredited training in a number of core skills modules.
Southside Partnership (DLR) provides funding for new Southside Travellers AIM Programme (27/12/2010) In early December this year, we approached Southside Partnership (DLR) for support with another of our innovative integrated programmes. This was the last hurdle in achieving our goals for 2010 within our Building for the Future strategy where we found a gap in our capacity to respond to significant challenges in relation to our community's: · Particularly negative experience of engaging with mainstream service and support providers · Expectation that Southside Traveller staff will take on advocacy role · Need to develop real skill amongst families (particularly men) to self advocate in a positive way The AIM (Advocating to Include Myself) Programme will provide opportunities for Traveller families engaging with our Advocacy Programme to build their own individual household's capacity to work positively with statutory agencies to ensure the highest quality of service provision. The resources provided by Southside Partnership (DLR) combined with those already available through FAS, will allow us to provide one to one guidance and support to more families, more often and to work with our partners to develop specific and realistic codes of practice. AIM can now start in early January. 2011. Clickhereto download the AIM Programme Overview
Southside Travellers Granted "Youth Cafe" Fit Out and Programme Costs for 2011 (16/12/2010)
Over the past number of months, we have witnessed a new phenomenon here at the Resource Centre. Every day, from about 4pm onwards, we are visited by a group of older teenage boys who hang out, play pool and use the computers or our Wii. This might not seem anything special, but for years we have tried to engage these lads in various planned activities with no success at all. We attribute this new phenomenon to the fact that we have put the message out into the community that this is a resource centre, we are here for all members of the community and anyone is welcome to drop in, surf the net and hang out (even if they don't have a problem they want us to work on, although obviously, the better they know the team here, the more likely they are to access our services and supports). So, rather than invite the lads to participate in a "programme", one young lad put the word out for us, and we haven't looked back since! Graham McGarry, our drugs support worker, working with Catriona and Linda, two of our youth workers, is available to the guys and using the "squashy couch" model and the learnings from our own Tuesday night "Chill Out Zone" for women - we now have a regular Thursday night older lads group - their very own "Chill Out Zone".
"Big Freeze" forces us to cancel our evening activities for today and tomorrow(6/12/10) As you know, our Resource Centre is in Sandyford Industrial Estate at the foot of the Dublin mountains. The roads here have been particularly affected by the recent weather conditions. To ensure safety for our staff and community members, the Resource Centre will close at 5pm today Monday and tomorrow Tuesday. We will reassess on Wednesday. Southside Travellers Christmas Activities Programme Announced (6/12/2010) It's that time of year again and the Children and Young Peoples' team have put together a fantastic programme of Christmas treats for our younger members. Starting this Saturday, the Saturday club crowd will meet at the Leisureplex in Stillorgan for madness and food. Then, throughout next week, our various groups will be found having dinner in Pizza Hut, hanging at the Leisureplex and enjoying the Roller Disco. The Programme will continue until Monday December 20. Transport will be provided for all activities (apart from the Saturday group's outing) - weather permitting. Contact Alison or Geraldine in the Centre for more details. "Happiness" sweeps the boards at National and County Wide Achievement Awards (26/11/2010) Happiness has swept the boards at two award ceremonies this week. Last Friday, our young people were presented with First Place in the Art Category at the Multi-Cultural Youth Awards, a national award celebrating the achievements of young people from a myriad of cultures. Luke Connors and Bridie O'Brien were presented with a commemorative crystal trophy by President Mary McAleese. Speaking after the ceremony, Alison Corr (Children and Young People's Programme Manager) said "this award really means a lot to our young people, who's achievements and creativity are not often marked in this way." Bridie O'Brien - one of the young artists - added "The President touched this hand, go on, touch the hand the President touched. The evening itself was a colourful and vibrant celebration event, with fabulous food and even hip hop dancing - and our young people looked fabulous in their Southside Travellers' hoodies. Last night, Happiness took first place again at the DLR Community Awards in County Hall. Showing off another beautiful commemorative piece, Geraldine Dunne (Assistant Children and Young People's Programme Manager) who attended the event with Alison Corr said "This is brilliant, two major awards in one week, we are really proud of the young people". Could it be that a piece of art called "Happiness" is just what we need in these troubling times? Take our 2 Minute Communications' Strategy Survey (15/11/10) It's that time of year again when we are preparing reports on our progress - given that ye are all the people towards whom our communications strategy has been aimed in 2010, we thought we'd give ye the opportunity to share your thoughts. You may have already received an e-mail request to complete the 2 minute survey, but just in case, click the image and give us your feedback. The survey will close at lunchtime on Friday. All replies are confidential and we welcome any feedback you might have. Thanks Graduation Ceremony in Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire (12/11/10) Last Wednesday evening (10/11/10), a number of our staff, participants and Board members attended the Dun Laoghaire VEC FETAC Certification awards ceremony. The awards were presented by the Chairperson of Dun Laoghaire VEC (Cllr. Donal Marron). The ceremony was attended by graduating learners from all over the county. Our gang received awards in Information Technology, Communications, Child Development and Play, Graphic Communications, Living in a Diverse Society and Personal Care and Presentation. The World According to Kevin: Part 1 (9/11/10) My name is Kevin Wall and I live in Sandyford with Mary (Ms Connors). I go to school in Queen of Angels . I really can't wait to get Mary a prize for Christmas, nail varnish and make up in a big box (only €16 in Boots in Dundrum). I'm really looking forward to Christmas - I'm going to get a go kart and a shed and a pool table. Bit worried about the storms coming tomorrow night, we all better go to bed early. Every week, I come to the homework club and do all me homework, it's hard work, but I'm good in school. In Saturday club, I made a Kevin Wall snowman, it was fab. I really like coming here, it's great, we do all things, like making stuff. I love playing pool, I can't stay away from it. Me and Brigid were playing the pool, she was fixing the yokes in the triangle and I just bashed it. Yesterday Catriona was in the loo and there were these little poles beside the door, and I banged them off the door easily and I was holding the handle with me hand. Catriona kept looking back and she thought there was a ghost and I jumped out on her!!! "Happiness" short-listed for Multi-Cultural Young People's Award 2010 (5/11/10) Happiness - designed to be a lasting monument to the Traveller Citizens of Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown - is a reflection on five works from the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI). The colourful backdrop was inspired by Paul Signac's 'Lady on the Terrace', 1898. A horse and blacksmith (Farrier) brings to mind John Frederick Herring's 'Shoeing Imaum' (1865) where the group replaced the lone figure in the French painting with their image. The second person in the painting is a girl in her Irish dancing costume reminiscent of 'A Boy standing on a Terrace' by Anthony Van Dyck (1623-27). The children have replaced the Spaniel with a Jack Russell. They also incorporated a yellow horse much like in Jack B. Yeats' 'The Singing Horseman' (1949) and a cross, which is similar to Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia's 'Crucifixion' (1460s), into their painting. Besides the vivid colour scheme there are many cheerful and positive elements in the picture, which give insights into today's Traveller youth culture. Ten of our young people worked with artist Natascha Fischell and the project was funded by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire and supported by the Education Department of the NGI and Southside Travellers Action Group. The awards ceremony, with special guest President Mary McAleese will be held in the Civic Offices of Dublin City Council on Friday, November 18th. Being shortlisted is already a great achievement, but the piece definitely has the potential to be a winner on the night. Job Vacancy: Community Drugs and Alcohol Support Worker (Community Employment Post) We are currently recruiting a Community Drugs and Alcohol Support Worker. If you are interested, please forward a completed CV to Geraldine McDonagh by close of business on November 26. Interviews will be held in the centre the following week. If you would like any additional information, or support with putting your CV together, contact Geraldine McDonagh at the centre on 01 295 7372.
Irish Times reveals that Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Co Co one of seven local authorities to have drawn down only 30% of the funds allocated for home adaptation (2/11/2010) "SEVEN LOCAL authorities drew down less than 30 per cent of the funds allocated to them for home adaptation grants by the end of September, figures released by the Department of the Environment show...and 22 authorities drew down less than 50 per cent... Almost €100 million was allocated to the scheme in March, but less than €45 million has been drawn down so far. If the local authorities do not use their funding by the end of the year it will be lost to them... Mayo, Louth and Dún Laoghaire County Councils and Galway City Council all had drawn down less than 30 per cent of their allotted funds by September 30th" (reprinted from Irish Times, 21/10/2010). Speaking on behalf of Southside Travellers Action Group, Catherine Morley (Director) said "This revelation concerns us greatly and we will be raising the issue at DLR Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee and Housing Strategic Policy Committee. Travellers with disabilities and older community members living across the county have particular challenges in relation to the accessibility/ suitability of their homes and the potential impact this can have on their capacity to live independently. We have a number of cases pending in relation to home adaptation and have recently successfully advocated for a number of families in this regard. With resources tightening everywhere, we would be particularly concerned at unused funds being reassigned to other local authority areas. Both our Advocacy and Get Vocal programmes see the allocation of this grant as essential to maintaining the standard of Traveller accommodation across DLR."
Ok, so it took a while and we had a lot of learning to do, but it's finished. Our new, easier to navigate, site is up and running. We wanted to have complete flexibility and accessibility, so we opted to do it ourselves! It should now be posible for us to consistently update and keep you posted on all our news and events. Now, we won't have to deal with the gremlins, the broken links and the lack of space. New features include the Download Centre where you can download all of our documents, publications and presentations. We have also updated the Management Team / Board page to include new staff and Board members. We've added a new picture archive as well, so just click little Kevin in the top right hand corner of this page and you can see all our latest photos. The latest e-zine will also always be available on this page, so keep checking for updates. If you want easily shared information about any of our programmes, our brochures and briefing documents are included in the Download Centre. So, if you have any links, information or news items you would like us to include, just mail the details to info@southsidetravellers.ie and we'll put them up asap. Also, feel free to add us as a link to your site or send us your thoughts on the new layout.
"I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you..."CCTV on sites causes contention (1/11/2010)
Seriously Good Fun - Children and Young People's Mid-Term Programme (1/11/10)
Frances O'Rourke (Chair) announces plans for moving house (27/09/10)
Congratulations to the Children and Young People's Programme Team on the first day of their new, extended programme (6/09/2010) Today, the Centre resounded with the sound of young people who came for the new homework club (2.30 - 4.30 Monday thru' Thursday), made cakes and prepared for the new Art Programme (Monday 5.30 - 7.30) and got to know each other in preparation for our new Beauty School (Monday 7.30 - 9.30). The new Programme operates Monday thru' Thursdays and Saturday mornings. Their pre-work showed in the attendance on such a miserable day. The rest of us look forward to supporting them to make it the bestest!!! Children and Young People's Programme -Participation up by 400% on Autumn 2009 (16/09/10) This year, almost 90 children and young people participated in the first week of our Autumn 2010 programme - in 2009, that number was 21! What an amazing start to September and our Autumn Programme! Our new fun packed programme operates from 2.30 - 9.30 from Mondays through Thursdays and Saturday mornings from 9.00 - 11.00. The homework club starts at 2.30pm and runs Monday through Thursday afternoons. Children are greeted with a warm snack and we then have two full rooms of busy bees doing their homework until 4.00pm. We go freestyle for half an hour until 4.30 and children choose activities ranging from crafts, educational games, cooking and computing. The afternoon/evening programmes start at 5.30 and we have Art (making Family Trees), Beauty School (Trevor was rumoured to be eves dropping to get tips!!), Hip Hop dancing, MC Group (have you checked out DJ Paddy?) and Culture Cooking ( Week 1: LA - Smoothies and delicious pittas with veggies yum! - can't wait for next week - Turkey (The country!!) Our Saturday Youth Café for 5 to 9 year olds also started and great feats of architecture were created and gorgeous cake design!! Our Parents' Group will be up and running again on 1 October and we will be starting with Healthy Food made Easy Programme. We look forward to the Friday laughs again!! And last but certainly not least - our Parent and Toddler Group - Our Gailles. After the graduation of seven of Southside Travellers finest last May, we will be starting the group again in October and look forward to welcoming many new faces. Congratulations to all the Junior Cert Crew who got great results! Also this week, Catriona, Alison and Miss Connors attended the launch of "All together for Dignity" which is a booklet with personal testimonies that reflect the experiences and reflections of people - including one from Ann- Marie Connors. Miss Connors read Ann-Marie's Testimony as Ann-Marie was in college- We wish her every success on her course and John in his new school!! The booklet is available in the centre. Phew - so that's half of September! Thanks to the Resource Centre team for all of their support in the transitions from one session to another. If you would like more information on any of the programmes call into the Youth Office or you can contact us on 01-2957372. We will keep you posted! New Accomodation Team Member on Board (24/08) Katy Quayle (centre) joined our accomodation team yesterday as team leader. Most recently, Katy graduated from the FAS Community Services Programme. She joins Michelle and Lil who continue to provide essential advice and advocacy support for Travellers resident in DLR. In addition, Katy will work closely with our new Get Vocal Programme Manager to integrate supports for Older People into our Accomodation and Health and Well-Being Programme. Katy also brings a background in theatre to the organisation, so, you never know!!! Get Vocal Underway (30/08/10) Older people hold a very important place in Traveller culture and a have a huge amount to offer in terms of experience, knowledge and skills. Getting older does however present many challenges and for members of the Traveller community, ageing provides a series of specific challenges, not least of which is the fact that when a Traveller community member reaches the age of 50 they are considered to be an older person. Even though older Travellers are held in high esteem by their community, and are generally part of strong familial networks, it has been the experience of the Southside Travellers Action group (who have delivered a number of social initiatives to older Travellers through our Community, Health and Well-Being Programme in 2009) that many older Travellers can still experience isolation. In particular older Travellers, owing to health status and educational attainment may not have the capacity or confidence to come together to get vocal about issues affecting them. Leadership Training Programme: July 12th As part of our commitment to developing the leadership capacity of Travellers living in Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown, seven team members (with support from FAS) completed a three day Public Speaking and Leadership Training Programme in the centre last Friday. Topics covered included assertiveness, identifying your leadership style and developing your leadership skills. As part of the programme, participants gave powerpoint presentations, were video-taped and had to explore the potential uses of their new skills. This programme forms a core element of our leadership development programme which we are also clear provides our team with opportunities to build their own personal core skills set. The programme will progress in the autumn, with a three week life coaching module. Join Us at the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Festival of World Cultures (14/07) For the first time, Southside Travellers (in partnership with Tallaght Travellers and Clondalkin Travellers) will participate in the DLR Festival of World Cultures. We will be bringing Happiness, our Culture Quilt and singing, dancing and story-telling to the festival. Why not join us in the marquee on Haigh Terrace on Saturday and Sunday, July 24th and 25th. Just Another Quiet Morning (posted July 6) 9.30am - fifteen young people on a bus to Viking Splash!! 10.00am - ten women continue the creation of a quilt commemorating Traveller Culture for the Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures in July in the Computer Room. Simultaneously, six staff start their leadership training programme in the Boardroom. Returning from the supermarket at 10.30am, Ms Connors and Ger Dunne get the bbq going and the smell of burgers and sausages fills the centre. Just another quiet morning, eh? Meanwhile, Jimmy took over on reception. Viking Splash Tour - a story by Hayley, Jade, Pearl, Bridie, Kevin, Elizabeth, Luke, Bridget, William and Annie "So, Pearl was late and just about made it onto the bus. We drove into the city on the red bus and stopped at Stephen's Green. Then, we hopped on the yellow Viking Ship and put on our seatbelts and Viking hats. On the boat, they told us all about the history of Dublin and the Vikings and we had to scream at people passing by. Then they made us put on our life jackets and we launched into the river - Luke and William kept blowing the whistle, even though we weren't drowning! Then, we sailed past where Bono records his albums - faster and faster and faster and faster - and we had to put our hands up and pretend we were flying. Very good, exciting, fun, deadly, very intellectual and we got to scare a few people....We better not forget the bbq, thanks to everyone and make sure Ger does the cooking all the time!! June E-Zine Go to our Publications page to download our new July E-Zine, packed as always with information and updates on our work here at Southside Travellers. This month, amongst other things, we continue our LTI campaign and urge Minister O'Cuiv to work with his partners in government to ensure that our Education Programme participants are given an opportunity to complete their Fetac accredited education programme. If they can protect Stags, surely they can do something for us! We also highlight our work around the new Inter-Agency plan for Travellers and react to the recent Frontline programme on RTE. Feel free to forward the zine to your colleagues.
Summer Programme Begins - Don't Forget Your Umbrella! This morning sees the start of our Summer Programme - bigger and better than ever this year, the programme will run four days a week for the next five weeks and culminate in a BBQ in the Centre on Friday, July 30th. Activities this year, ranging from Go Karting, to Roller Skating and Outdoor Pursuits events will no doubt provide our young people with lots of opportunities to try new things and meet new people. Our entire team and volunteer parents and staff have worked hard to make this one of the most packed and ambitious programmes ever and over 120 children and young people have registered to participate. Click here to download the programme and contact Alison or any of the programme team for more details. Obviously, hundreds of photos to follow..... Travellers on the Frontline Representatives of the Irish Traveller Movement, Pavee Point and Minceirs Whiden participated in a discussion on RTE's Frontline Programme, chaired by Pat Kenny, last Monday. Since then, the ITM's facebook page has been flooded with community members commenting on the seeming bias of the chair, as well as the ways in which the debate was framed within the context of conflict. From our perspective, the entire scenario established by Pat Kenny was designed to sensationalise the challenging issues facing the community and ensure that no real discussion of the impact of Irish government policy. Martin Collins, Barney Joyce, Catherine Collins and RoseMarie Maughan are to be congratulated on their capacity to stay calm in such a distinctly hostile environment. Dublin Pride: First Ever Official Traveller Presence Last Saturday, the streets of Dublin were transformed into a carnival of colour and dance with over 22,000 people marching in the Annual LGBTQ Pride Parade. This year's theme was We Are Family Too and this was marked with a significant turnout of the families, friends and supporters of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer people from all over Ireland. For the first time this year, Gay Travellers were represented by community members, the Irish Traveller Movement, Minceirs Whiden and Pavee Point. The word on the street was that the Traveller banners made it onto CNN. Whether or not this is the case, on the day, Travellers were visible in one of the most important days in the LGBTQ calendar. Check out our gallery page for more pictures. Southside Travellers Action Group Ltd. Annual General Meeting - 10.30am, June 24th Our Annual General Meeting will take place in the Resource Centre at 10.30am on June 24. Southside Travellers Action Group welcomes all current and prospective members to join us for this event. Those who are not currently members will be able to register as members on the day and will have full membership rights for 2010 - 2011. Please note, only current members can vote on June 24 and have been formally informed of the proceedings in line with the Companies Act. Movie Morning in Southside Travellers This morning saw the resource centre transformed into a movie theatre, complete with big screen and even popcorn. Over fifty people representing our funders, board, partners and programme staff and participants gathered for the event, hosted by Senator Ivana Bacik, to watch two new Southside Travellers' movies - How to Make a Submission: A Step by Step Guide and Southside Travellers in Action. Both movies were produced, directed (and even acted in) by programme participants - with guest appearances from partners. The event marked the end of term for our Education Programme which is currently under threat from government decisions around eligibility criteria for participation in the Local Training Initiative. Speaking at the event, Senator Bacik made a commitment to actively pursue a response to our campaign to allow our participants to complete the programme. Presentations were also made to programme participants and staff. Closing the event, Catherine Morley thanked our funders and partners for their continued support. Afterwards, guest were treated to a tasty lunch and some of the biggest cakes our younger guests had ever seen. Southside Travellers in Action will also be showcased at the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Inclusion Fusion Event during Social Inclusion Week in October. It will be available soon for download from our site. Watch our How to Make a Submission: A Step by Step Guide on our video page. Now Available on our Publications Page We have just added new content to our Publications Page - you can now download our 2009 Annual Report, Organisational Briefing Document and Programme Brochures for our Education, Community Health and Well-Being, Children and Young People and Accomodation and Advocacy Programme. Our E-zines are also archived on this page. We will be regularly updating, so keep checking in. Date and Venue for Southside Travellers 25th Anniversary now Confirmed Plans are now in place to acknowledge and celebrate Southside Travellers' 25th Anniversary. Taking the form of a Traveller Fair, our celebration will be one of the opening events of Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Social Inclusion Week 2010. More details as we move through the summer, but the hope is that the programme will really reflect Traveller culture and provide an opportunity to look forward as well as look back. We will also be showcasing all of our programmes, the talents and skills of our community and our new strategic plan. The event will take place in the Assembly Rooms of Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown County Hall on Saturday, October 16th. More information in the June E-Zine, when we hope to have a finalised programme. Following this public celebration, past and present board members, volunteers and staff will gather for a gala dinner and dance . May E-Zine Click the picture to download May's E-Zine - it's packed with updates and news about our work here at Southside Travellers. This month, we also have some excellent pictures of Our Gailles and "Happiness" - a piece of public art we commissioned to acknowledge Traveller citizens of Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for the zine, send your contact details to info@southsidetravellers.ie Southside Travellers Secures Funding to Develop Supports for Older Travellers in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Following activation work with Older Travellers across the county, Southside Travellers have been informed that our submission for inclusion in the Age and Opportunity Get Vocal Programme has been successful. Our new special project, linked with our Accomodation / Advocacy and Community Health and Well-Being Programme has three key elements: · The completion of a rigorous baseline study of the situation, experiences and service and support needs of Older Travellers in Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown · The establishment of an Older Travellers' network for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown · The development of a strategy to ensure that the voice of Older Travellers informs and impacts on the delivery of our own strategy and those of partner organisations throughout the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown area Key issues emerging for Older Travellers in our activation process included - issues relating to accomodation, the development and maintenance of social support networks and access to primary health care services. Our hope is that this project - initially for one year - will support us to really advocate with older Travellers in the county. We shall be recruiting an Older Person's Advocacy Facilitator in the coming weeks in partner organisations, on Activelink and on our own vacancies page. Newly Available Annual Report Go to our Publications page, to download a copy of our 2009 Annual Report. Charting the achievements and challenges faced by Southside Travellers in 2009, it gives a detailed overview of the work of our programmes, our new management structures and forms the basis of our soon to be launched Strategic Plan Building for the Future. Come to our Double DVD Launch You are invited to join us in a celebration of the work done by our Education Programme on two DVD's entitled A Step by Step Guide on How to Make a Submission and Southside Travellers in Action. Hosted by Senator Ivana Bacik, there will be a chance to view the DVD's, hear our thoughts on the importance of structured community participation and share a cup of tea with us to mark the end of the 2009 - 2010 academic year. Southside Travellers to Launch "How to Make a Submission" DVD Following the successful completion and launch of the Southside Travellers / VEC / Social Inclusion Unit Booklet "How to Make a Submission", participants in our Education Programme have now completed a DVD of the Booklet. It will be launched on June 11th in Southside Travellers by Senator Ivana Bacik, to coincide with the programme's annual end of term celebrations. Ms Connors on RTE Radio On Saturday 8 May, Miss Connors recorded a testimony in RTE of a Traveller Woman's story that she had read previously at the 17th October UN Eradication of Poverty Day Commemoration Day in Dublin (2009). The recording was done with Francoise from ATD Fourth World who works on various projects with Southside Travellers Programmes and RTE. The recording will be broadcast on the Maxi show on RTE Radio - when the exact date has been confirmed we will update the website! Our Girls at NPAS As promised, footage from our young people at NPAS (National Performing Arts School). View the footage on our video page - this was only their second session, go girlies!!! New April E-Zine For the first time - and because of the significant resources required to print and distribute a newsletter - we bring you our new E-Zine. Distributed to all our contacts on the first Friday of each month, it provides an overview of all the happenings here in Southside Travellers. You can download it from the site (click the image on the left) or we can mail it to you if you mail us at info@southsidetravellers.ie with the subject line e-zine. Apologies for any cross posting of this one, we will endeavour to ensure that you receive it only once. New Parents' Group Starting in May Another of our new Special Projects is due to start in May. From Friday, May 14th, Kitty Connors and Margaret McDonagh - working with Miriam McGovern from Dun Laoghaire VEC - will facilitate our new Parents' Group. Focusing on supporting Traveller parents to deal with the challenges of raising their families in a society where discrimination (explicit and implicit) is, unfortunately, still the norm, the group will seek to support parents to access the various services and supports available at Southside and mainstream service and support provision around the county. It is envisaged that the group will meet weekly on Friday mornings at the Resource Centre. We would like to acknowledge Dun Laoghaire VEC for the provision of specific tutor hours to respond to the education needs emerging for parents in the group. Managing Change to Build for the Future: Management Team take part of Change Management Process As part of our work to embed our new strategy Building for the Future and develop our management team's capacity to deal with the significant change its delivery requires, our Management Team - with support from Southside Community Training Network - participated in the first of a series of Change Management workshops facilitated by Isolde Norris of Koi Consulting (www.koiconsulting.ie). Focusing on developing the key tools to facilitate the organisation to take on the change challenge, the workshop took place in Bewley's Hotel in Leopardstown. Speaking after the day, Catherine Morley said "This was really the beginning of a process which, we hope, will help us ensure that we can take the steps to sustain the organisation in these challenging times, we need to be mindful of the gorillas, but also focus on the tasks at hand." Over the coming weeks, the team will spend one more day with Isolde to embed the learning from the first day. Southside Travellers Young People join NPAS (National Performing Arts School) This evening, a group of girls from the Children and Young People's Programme boarded a bus to take them on what could be the journey of a lifetime. Having showed their talent for singing and dancing, the Youth Team decided it was time to take the girls out of the centre and enrol them in a taster programme at the National Performing Arts School (www.npas.ie) in their purpose built dance studios in Dublin's Docklands. In preparation, the girls (and Catriona, Catherine and Mary) watched dance movies, practiced with YouTube videos of Justin Bieber (?) and generally sang and danced their way around the centre. Speaking of the preparations and the excitement, Alison Corr (Children and Young People's Programme Manager) said "This is the first time we have tried this with the group and these four weeks will set the scene for a much longer and more intense programme from September. This is really important to them and we are dying to see the moves they bring back". LTI Campaign Update: Carol Connors participates in Lobbying Meeting with Minister O'Cuiv Carol Connors (Education Programme Manager) and other Southside Travellers Action Group members attended a meeting in the ITM today, to brief ITM Chair and staff on the impact of the changes in LTI criteria prior to their meeting with the Minister O'Cuiv. Following a broad discussion, ITM Chair Jim O'Brien requested that Carol join their delegation to Leinster House. Following the meeting, Carol said "the Minister seemed to hear us when we told him of the concerns of Travellers. He said he would speak to FAS" Southside Travellers launches petition to urge government to reassess impact of changes to eligibility criteria for Local Training Initiatives Sign the petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lti_training_allowances/ . Southside Travellers calls on government to reassess the impact of changes to eligibility for Traveller women participating in FAS funded local training initiatives throughout the country. Southside Travellers - in partnership with its partner Traveller organisations throughout Ireland and community and voluntary organisations throughout Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown - is calling on government to reassess the particular impact of changes to eligibility criteria for women participating in the local training initiative. Speaking at the Board meeting, Catherine Morley (Director of Southside Travellers) said: "For us, these changes mean that women who have been participating in the programme for two years will not be able to complete their third year and thus gain the level of qualification required for progression or employment. Our organisation is a very good example of what these types of programmes can achieve - we have a management team of seven here at Southside Travellers, and four of them are women graduates of this programme. Our Health and Well-Being Programme is another example. The experience is similar for all Traveller Organisations." Campaign Letter. Click here to watch our participants speak about the Programme. Tuesday Night Chill-Out Sessions a "Must Do" for Traveller Women in Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown Tuesday nights have seen the centre transformed into a chill out / pampering zone. Starting the week before Easter, with eyebrow trimming (from the lovely Clare Cranny) facials and fancy nail polishing (everyone did this, but Sally and Alice proved particularly popular) and head massages from our Resource Centre Manager. The sessions, provide an opportunity for our Community Health and Well-Being team to link women with the Programme in a more relaxed environment, continued this week with massages (and a sing-song), the sessions have become a "must do" for Traveller women from all over the county. Operating on a "pay what you can" basis, the sessions will continue for April. Make sure to come next week for a haircut (thanks Michelle), blow-dry or a go of our new hair straighteners (kindly donated by some of the younger women in the community). The candles will be lighting and the stereo will be on....who needs a day spa when you can have all this. Southside Travellers Supports Stand Up! Following our participation in Training with Belongto youth services, Southside Travellers is proud to support the campaign aimed at creating a positive understanding of the issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. STAG Chicks Easter Residential a Resounding Success "As part of the STAG Chicks group, we went on a residential to Lilliput Adventure Centre. We arrived early on Wednesday morning, and began the day with Orienteering, which consisted of running, trekking through woodlands, golf courses and of course the bog. We then stopped for a quick bit of lunch and then we went on to the Zip-Wire and faced our fears!!! Then we decided to brave it again and go rock climbing, Elizabeth was crowned champion!! Then it was time to get mucky and go bog hopping. After a lovely dinner, it was chill out time with hot chocolate and chick flicks…" Community Health and Well-Being Programme: Annual Report (2009) Our Community Health and Well-Being Programme Annual Report for 2009 has now been submitted. Download your copy in.pdf from our publications page and read about the valuable outreach and support work provided by the programme in 2009. Local and Community Development Programme: Annual Plan for Programme Goals (2010) In December '09, Southside Travellers made a decision to participate in the new Local and Community Development Programme (which takes over from the Community Development Programme in January 2010). We have now completed and submitted our plan for 2010, which outlines our actions for the continued management and co-ordination of core programmes and is founded on the goals and principles outlined in our soon to be launched strategy Building for the Future (2010 - 2012). Click here to download an overview of the plan. We look forward to working with all of our partners and funders throughout 2010. Easter Programme for Children and Young People This year, for the first time, our children and young people's programme has a packed programme of activities for the younger members of our community - ranging from go karting for the lads and a stag chicks residential for the girls, and of course, horse riding for all age groups....contact Alison or Catriona in the youth office for more details. Resource Centre Programme of Community Activities for April Now that the evenings are getting longer, our April Programme of afternoon and evening activities is now complete and will be available to view in the centre, on notice boards in Southside Partnership, the Citizen's Information Centres in Dun Laoghaire and Dundrum and on the notice boards in community centres throughout the county. It's packed with activities. Why not check it out, according to the team, there's something for everyone - contact geraldinemcdonagh@southsidetravellers.ie for more details, or to make suggestions for May! |
Our Tuesday night "Chill Out Zone" for women is coming along leaps and bounds (and dives and splashes!!!). Following twelve weeks working with our team and Grainne (Hanley Centre DLR) on developing strategies to promote resilience and well-being, the group are ready to take the plunge. From Wednesday, April 12th, our new four week aqua aerobics programme will begin at Glen Albyn Leisure Centre in Stillorgan. Participants will meet at the centre at 7.20 each Wednesday. Contact Sally or Niamh for more details.
Aoife Pollins (BSc), a graduate of Robert Gordon University in Edinburgh and a qualified Occupational Therapist joined Southside Travellers through the FAS Graduate Scheme in January.
Last Tuesday, we embarked on the first of our trips to the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham. For many, this was the first time they had experienced modern art and for some it was challenging to believe that the pieces they were seeing were actually considered "art". Thanks to Evi, the curator, for her patience and guidance. Our next trip is to Guinness's Brewery, will there be a similar response?
Next Monday evening, our Advocacy and Get Vocal Programme Co-Ordinators have invited all candidates standing in the forthcoming general election to join community members at a question and answer session here in the Resource Centre. In addition, a member of An Garda Siochana will be on hand to stamp applications for inclusion on the supplementary register of electors. Southside Travellers are resident in both the Dun Laoghaire and Dublin South constituencies. We look forward to a lively debate.
At Last - Site up and running (1/11/2010)
Over the past number of months, it has come to our attention that Travellers across the county have some significant concerns around the installation of CCTV on sites and in group housing schemes. Some community members are happy with the development, as they see it as a way for illegal dumping (a long-time issue on and around Traveller specific accommodation around the country) to be monitored and for their own protection from spurious allegations. For others, the installation of the cameras causes significant concerns about their right to privacy. Our Advocacy and Accomodation team are currently in the process of developing a collective response which they hope will resonate with all community members. From our perspective, a recent incident on Nutgrove site where significant damage was done to the home of a community member who was away with a seriously ill relative raised particular concern, as whilst the cameras are visible, there seemed to be no way of using them to identify those responsible for the damage. Councillor Denis O'Callaghan is working with our team to raise the issue at Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee level. In addition, our Director has tabled the issue for the agenda of the next Housing Strategic Policy Committee in December.
So, with the days getting shorter and the school holidays seeming to get longer, our Children and Young People's Programme team embarked on yet another targeted initiative last week.
"On behalf of the Board, and following extensive discussions in the house and with the broader Traveller community around the fact that our current premises do not provide us with the amount of space required to deliver on our commitments within our strategic plan - Building for the Future - I would like to formally announce that Southside Travellers is planning a move to bigger and better quality premises nearby. The current economic downturn has worked to our advantage in finding a space that is almost five times the size of our current premises for a reasonable lease and rent which requires very little in the way of refurbishment. We are also delighted to announce that we have secured a significant community facilities refurbishment grant from Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council