During the CoPPer team meeting in Cork, Ireland, CoPPer team members visited Churchfield Trust, one of the many community based organisations co-funded by the Irish Probation Service. Team members enjoyed a tour of the Cork Foyer, which offers supported living arrangements for young persons and which is co-located on one of the sites operated by Churchfield Community Trust. The team then had lunch in the Garden Café, operated by Churchfield Community Trust, where service users are trained in hospitality and horticulture services and which is open to members of the public. Churchfield Community Trust bridges the gaps in formal education for service users and the majority of service users are referred through the Probation Services. Churchfield Community Trust’s goal is to provide a caring community for its service users so as to allow them to advance their personal development and take up opportunities in their lives, allowing them to engage in personal and skills development, self reflection, so as to manage their lives in healthy ways. Although Churchfield Community Trust itself works only with a few volunteers, our visit helped the team to better understand the important work that community-based organisations do in cooperation with Probation Services. The team was also introduced to the work of IASIO (Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities), by Des Holton, particularly the great partnerships with employers supporting people with criminal convictions to gain employment and further training and education.
Des Holton from IASIO (Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities) sharing experiences of facilitating employment and training opportunities with service users
Paul O’Donnell, CEO of Churchfield Trust explaining the Trust’s work and its collaboration with other services
CoppER group photo outside Churchfield Trust’s Garden Café
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