Our capacity building work is informed by the proverb; give a fish and feed for a day, teach to fish and feed for life.
Our capacity building objectives are
To build geographical community capacity by working with communities to deliver small scale actions which harness their potential and build resilience to scale up and address more complex challenges and opportunities.
To empower disadvantaged groups in Carlow to actively participate in civic society in accordance with their preferences while recognising their cultural identity.
To build a strong and viable social enterprise sector in Carlow.
Our Priority Groups and Communities
Our Work in Rathvilly
The historic village of Rathvilly is situated in North Carlow on the beautiful River Slaney. Rathvilly has a population of 875. which includes a high age dependency ratio of 35.42% (2016), a male unemployment rate of 19.76% (2016) and a female unemployment rate of 22.14% (2016). It also records -9.71 on the Deprivation Score Index (2016).
Our work in Rathvilly is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with the community to enable then realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying service gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work in Rathvilly included;
- Engaging with and motivating community groups,
- Capital investment of €200,000 in local sporting facilities,
- Grant aid for community activities,
- School supports to prevent early school leaving, including after schools’ programmes,
- Wellbeing initiative called ‘Hello Rathvilly’,
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID-19 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes, care bags,
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls,
- Support for job seekers including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- Recruitment of Tús workers across a range of community settings in Rathvilly to ensure continuity of community services and projects.
Our Work in Graiguecullen
Graiguecullen situated on the west side of the River Barrow with a full range of shopping, schools, services and recreational amenities on its doorstep, recorded a population of 4278 in 2016 which includes a high representation from lone parents 32.5% (2016) and an age dependency ratio of 32.97% (2016). It also recorded -8.99 on the Deprivation Score Index.
Our work in Graiguecullen is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with the community to enable then realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying service gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work in Graiguecullen included;
- Engaging with and motivating community groups
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID 10 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes, care bags
- Graiguecullen Biodiversity project with resident’s association
- Capital investment of €337,750 in local sporting facilities,
- Grant aid for community activities
- Business planning and operational support for St Clare’s Hospitality Kitchen
- Support for job seekers from the community, including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- School supports to prevent early school leaving, including after schools’ programmes
- Recruitment of Tús workers across a range of community settings to ensure continuity of community services and projects.
Our Work in Bagenalstown
Bagenalstown, situated on the River Barrow is a busy rural town, offerings a range of services, recreational amenities and schools to locals and visitors. Known for having a strong engineering and manufacturing base, Bagenalstown has a population of 2837 (2016). Bagenalstown Urban recorded a high dependency ratio of 35.26% (2016), high lone parent population (30.18%) and a relatively high number of households without a car 249 (2016). Bagenalstown urban recorded -10.14 on the Deprivation Score Index (2016).
Our work in Bagenalstown is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with local community groups to enable then realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying service gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work in Bagenalstown includes;
- Engaging with and motivating community groups
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls
- School supports to prevent early school leaving, including after schools’ programmes
- Partnership with Iarnrod Éireann to deliver new community services
- Recruitment of Tús workers across a range of community settings to ensure continuity of community services and projects.
- Support for job seekers from the community including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID-19 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes, care bags
- Capital investment of €185,726 in local community facilities
Our Work in the Tullow Road Area
The Tullow Road Area is a large residential community in Carlow. With new and ambitious plans underway to establish a community centre. The Tullow Road area comprising 13 residential estates, has a population of 2332 (2016). With strong representation from lone parents in some of the individual estates (21% to 52%), the portion of Local Authority rented accommodation can be as high as 51% in these same estates. The Deprivation Score Index (2016) for the Tullow Road ranged between -9.56 to -21.05 across the 13 residential estates.
Our work on the Tullow Road in Carlow is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with the community to enable then realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying service gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work on the Tullow Road includes;
- Engaging with and motivating community groups, including local residents’ groups,
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls,
- Support for job seekers from the community including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- Partnership with Carlow County Council to deliver a community arts project (Take a Part)
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID-19 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes, care bags
- Recruitment of Tús workers for the Tullow Road area to ensure continuity of community services and projects.
- Capital investment of €267,245 in local sporting facilities.
Our Work in Hacketstown
Hackettstown, located in the North of Carlow and an ancestral home of Elvis Presley, has delightful views from Eagle Hill and most of the county can be seen from this vantage point. Surrounded by woodland and farmland, Hackettstown is a gateway to the higher Wicklow mountains to the east and is a mere 17km from the rural town of Tullow. In 2016, the population of Hackettstown was 1,117 (2016) which included a high age dependency ration (37.71%) and a high lone parent ratio (28.50%). Hackettstown recorded -10.56 on the Deprivation Score 2016.
Our work in Hackettstown is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with the community to enable them realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying services gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work in Hackettstown included;
- Engaging with and motivating community groups, including residents’ associations and men’s’ shed,
- Grant aid for community web-site design and development,
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls,
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID 10 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes, care bags,
- Business planning and operational support for the Core centre,
- Support for job seekers including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- School supports to prevent early school leaving, including after schools’ programmes,
- Partnership with Safe Food Ireland in delivering a Healthy Eating initiative,
- Recruitment of Tús workers in Hackettstown to ensure continuity of community services and projects,
- Delivering a suite of lifelong learning opportunities,
- Capital investment on €263,592 in local community facilities.
Our Work in New Oak
New Oak Estate, located within walking distance to services, shops, schools and recreational facilities in Carlow Town, is a bustling residential estate with a strong community spirit which demonstrates continuous resilience. With 188 houses of which over one third are Local Authority rented houses, the estate has a population of 455 people. Within the estate there is strong representation from lone parents (48%). New Oak recorded -22.80 on the Deprivation Score Index (2016).
Our work in New Oak is underpinned by a whole of company approach which involves agreeing objectives and strategies with the residents to enable them to realise their potential and specifically, involves taking stock of assets, identifying service gaps that need to be addressed, motivating participation, agreeing targets and leveraging resources. In 2020 our work in New Oak Estate included;
- Engaging with and motivating the resident’s association,
- Support for older residents through our Care and Repair service and befriending calls,
- Comprehensive and targeted COVID-19 emergency response including distribution of care boxes, family boxes and care bags,
- Support in leveraging funding for projects,
- Support for job seekers from the estate including job searching skills and CV preparation,
- Recruitment of Tús workers for New Oak to ensure continuity of community services and projects.
Get in Touch
For further information please contact Annette Fox at afox@carlowdevelopment.ie or Clare O’ Shea coshea@carlowdevelopment.ie or telephone 059 9720733.
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