THE ROLE played by one of the State’s leading support agencies has shifted from giving people information about jobs and social welfare entitlements to helping them access education and community projects.
The shift, outlined in the Family Resource Centres annual report, published today, reflects people’s growing familiarity with hard times and an apparent recognition that austerity is here to stay.
In 2008, the centres were largely involved in helping job seekers prepare CVs and in giving information about welfare entitlements but, according to chairwoman Claire Dineen, people are now looking for help with a broader range of activities.
She said the shifting focus was part of a “growing recognition that there is no quick-fix solution to the problems that have been presented by the recession. People know that finding a job is not easy and – in some cases – it may no longer be possible. Yet they want to stay connected – especially where they no longer have a job to go to.”
While Ms Dineen said there was still a demand for job-hunting support, “many people are now looking to us for ways to connect with their community. In particular, people are seeking to be involved in initiatives such as ‘men’s sheds’ [in which men get together and make things] and support groups for people in long-term unemployment or with mental health issues.
“Last year, we delivered 24 per cent more training and development courses than in 2010 and, collectively, we helped to form over 300 new community groups,” said Ms Dineen.
“These interventions are ensuring that individuals and families don’t become isolated and unsupported as the impact of the recession deepens.”
The centres are funded by the Family Support Agency, which operates under the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. There are 106 centres across the State.
Most community groups established with help from the centres last year focused on young people and men, a decision aimed at targeting a deficit within the organisation.
Ms Dineen said that women, lone parents and older people had been quicker to engage with the centres but she said that “as more men fall into long-term unemployment, more young people are affected by the stresses of recession on their family and more families struggle with limited finances, we adapt by ensuring that targeted interventions are in place”.
In total, 223,077 people went to the centres for advice or information in 2011 compared with 192,705 in 2010. Of all the queries, 157,402 were dealt with directly by the centres, while a further 65,675 were referred on to services such as Citizens Information Centres, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service and VECs.
Ms Dineen said early interventions – which typically involve assistance with family budgeting, signposting to mental health services or relationship counselling – could help families deal with issues before they turn into insurmountable problems.
“Supporting families is crucial to ensuring that children are protected. We must learn from the past, including our recent past, and acknowledge that where families are allowed to fall through the net, it is sadly often the children who bear the brunt.”
She warned that if the level of intervention it offered was not maintained, “more families will fall through the net, leaving graver and deeper problems to be addressed by the State in the future”.
