Strengthening Families Programme

Strengthening Families Programme

Completely new for Ballinasloe in Autumn 2015 will be the Strengthening Families Programme (SFP); a family skills based programme which aims to improve parenting, family functioning and communication, and to prevent anti-social behaviours in teenagers, families and communities. The Ballinasloe programme is part of the roll-out of SFP in County Galway, following successful programmes in Connemara, Galway City and Tuam.

Some of the families who engage with the programme find themselves struggling due to a range of issues, such as mental health, challenging economic circumstances, history of domestic abuse, addictions, low school retention, to name a few.  A number of key local agencies locally, including WRDTF, GRETB, GRD, An Garda Siochana, Department Of Education, GTM, Youth Work Ireland, and Empowerment Plus will be involved in running the programme, which is supported in terms of  core running costs by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul through the Maureen O Connell Fund.

The programme offers incentives to teens and their parents to participate and engage with the programme.  Gift vouchers and spot prizes donated by local businesses that appeal to families of teens aged 12 – 16 have been very effective on other programmes in rewarding families’ engagement and highlighting fun activities that families can do together in their local area.

If you or your business would like to support the programme, please contact Jennie Swannock on 085 1685693 or email jennieswannock@eplus for further information.  Any donation, no matter how small, is very much appreciated.

If you have teenagers aged 12-16 and you might be interested in participating in the programme for 14 weeks to learn new family skills, please contact Rachel Browne on 086 0273098.

 We wish them all the best with the programme,

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By Ciara Beresford