Dear Neighbour,
We have decided it is important to open any of our Fr McGrath Family Resource Centre and Neighbourhood Hall community services that we can safely run to assist local families, children and older people with the challenges they are facing, while being very considerate to public health issues.
Our family centre promises, we will have contact services and a human being to talk to you every day from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday.
Our main telephone number 056-7751988 ext 1 is now a priority community help/query number.
If you do not hear a fellow human answering your call, then leave a message and one of our many volunteers or team members will respond.
Our IT Manager, Liz Hogan and welfare information officer, Samuel Morgan, and their teams will assist people with any social welfare or DEASP benefit applications from Monday morning 10am to 12.30pm.
Liz Hogan (086-1510485) and our teams will also work to help you or your family with IT and social media access or other supports where ever it is possible and safe.
I know that older people living alone are fortunate to be generally very well watched and cared for in our community. I am appealing to our neighbours to let us know the name of any person or vulnerable family in your street if you are concerned that they need more support than they are getting from you now.
Our family resource centre and our befriending social service partners, Alone, have access to many volunteers willing to provide further help or resources as needed to vulnerable residents.
Please see our www.frmcgrathcentre.ie site or our Fr McGrath Family Resource Centre Facebook Page for updates and links to important mental health and family wellbeing sites.
We all awoke to a different Ireland, post St Patrick’s Day. For the time being the ‘new normal’ for our families and lone residents will present some social challenges to us all.
While we are all understandably a little frightened of the future, it is important we know that as a strong and united community we won’t be facing it alone.
We are all, now, each other’s light on the hill and an Ireland of people and communities united, won’t be defeated by any ational challenge.
I look forward to the day when we can shake each other’s hand again to thank each other for the small kindnesses we did for our neighbours, when it really mattered most.
In the meantime, remember, and tell your neighbour:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Stephen Murphy, (086-8097590)
Director of Services, St Canice’s Community Action
Useful or Important Contacts or Social Info Sites
Alone.ie
Tele: No. 0818 222 024. 8am–8pm
(befriending service for older people)
HSE.ie
(for latest community health advice)
Mygov.ie
(for unemployment support applications)
Who.int
(World Health Organisation Covid 19 updates and advice)
__________
Aware 1800 80 48 48 (depression, anxiety)
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie
Pieta House 1800 247 247 or email mary@pieta.ie (suicide, self-harm)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 18)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
Amber Kilkenny Women’s Refuge Project 056 7771404
•
Fr. McGrath Centre & Neighbourhood Hall Contacts:
Telephone Number – 056 7751988
www.frmcgrathcentre.ie or Fr. McGrath Family Resource Centre Facebook page
Liz Hogan, IT Manager. 086-1510485
Theresa Delahunty, Fáilte Isteach/Kilkenny Immigrant Services 086-1927033
Samuel Morgan, Welfare Info. Officer/Immigrant Support Services 086-1966073
Jenny Cooke, Neighbourhood Hall Supervisor – 087-9546368
Wendy Taylor, Family & Community Services Manager 087-9777810
Karen Foran, Learning Tree Creche Manager-085-7261595
Karin Todd, After School Care Manager 087-2206730
Stephen Murphy, Director of Services 086-8097590
Visit Kilkenny Covid 19 Volunteers Facebook page
