Spotkanie informacyjne dla kobiet w ciazy i mlodych rodzicow z zakresu prawa pracy, sluzby zdrowia i pomocy socjalnej.

Agnieszka Matys ze Szkoly Sen w Dublinie mowi: „Biorac pod uwage duza liczbe rodzicow przychodzacych do naszej szkoly, wsrod ktorych jest wielu mlodych rodzicow i kobiet w ciazy, postanowilismy zorganizowac te spotkanie. Mamy nadzieje, ze przekazane informacje beda przydatne i pomocne w korzystaniu z tutejszych serwisow i liczymy na duze zainteresowanie.”

22 stycznia, 2011
Godz. 9.15
Szkola Sen
St. JOSEPH SCHOOL for Deaf Boys,
Navan Road,
Dublin 7

Zapisy w szkole lub Emilia: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Cairde is working in collaboration with CPLN area Partnership and Clondalkin Women’s Network to conduct a consultation process with children and families affected with the Sickle Cell condition.

This consultation process is to meet those affected with Sickle Cell to understand the impact of this condition to them and their families and to better understand how to improve their access to health care and other services.

If you know anyone who may require information concerning this consultation process, could you kindly direct him or her to speak in confidence to Emmanuel Njume Sone, Health Advocacy Officer on: 0871264578, Cairde, 19 Belvedere Place, Dublin 1,  Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required

On the 23^rd November, 2010 Cairde and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) organised an Information Session for Chinese Community. Topics included accessing GP and hospital services, employment rights and voluntary assisted return & reintegration.

On the November 3rd, 2010 Cairde delivered a presentation on grief and grieving in different cultures for Barnardo’s Bereavement Counselling for Children team.

This service works with families to help them support their child through the grieving process. It offers Counselling and therapy as well as operates a national Helpline which is often a first step in seeking support by families and professionals. Recently an increase in the ethnic minorities coming for help, usually via social workers or schools was noticed.

Cairde’s presentation focused on how different ethnic and national communities deal with bereavement.  Religious, national and regional customs and traditions from the Eastern and Central Europe, China and Africa were presented.

The Head of service in Barnard’s, Valerie Kelly commented on our presentation: “It was interesting and moving and so beneficial to our work. The feedback from therapists and bereavement helpline volunteers was very positive.”

More info: Iryna Pokhilo, email hidden; JavaScript is required

Balbriggan has one of the largest ethnic minority populations in Ireland per capita. From January 2010, a branch of Cairde’s Health Information and Advocacy Centre was set up in Balbriggan to provide individual advocacy and information to ethnic minorities.

The consultation process initiated by Cairde and supported by European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion funding, was a first step in development of local ethnic minority health forum which would positively impact on local community health. It is also a beginning of development of a collective mechanism for ethnic minority groups in Balbriggan to discuss issues which impact on the health of their communities and to devise strategies to respond to these needs.

Local ethnic minority community leaders were engaged in mobilising their own communities. 64 ethnic minority community members took part in consultation seminar on 22^nd of September 2010: Asylum seekers from Mosney Direct Provision Centre, members of Roma community, refugees and people with Leave to Remain as well as migrant workers.

The seminar focussed on experiences of poverty and social exclusion among ethnic minorities, living in Balbriggan and surrounding areas. Looking first at the health issues in the community most important changes to improve health and quality of life in Balbriggan were identified. They include:

• Access to fully operational Social Welfare Office and HSE Community Welfare locally in Balbriggan,
• Improve access to Primary care services in the community including GP services and medical cards.
• Address unemployment by creating new jobs in the area of Balbriggan and creating more accessible educational opportunities for migrants.
• Improve infrastructure in Balbriggan: sport facilities, childcare and family support services, improve security of the area, Create/ improve access to English language courses locally, Create more opportunities for integration, for meeting new people.
• Address a number of problems within Direct Provision system.

The consultation seminar findings will be distributed to: Local service providers and policy makers: Health Service Executive, Fingal Co. Council, etc.

Full report

Reoccurring issues related to health & wellbeing of pregnant women, single mothers and parents of Polish origins living in Ireland have been noted by those working in the area of information provision and advocacy.

They are related to knowledge about services and entitlements as well as law enforcement:

• Information is often spread by word of mouth.
• Command of the English language influence ability to access services.
• In more remote areas access to information and advocacy services is more difficult.
• Health & safety issues occur  in workplaces (miscarriages).
• High cost of childcare in Ireland causes some women to give up employment.
• Having children influence migrant women’s employment record and eligibility to  social protection.

Cairde in cooperation with Siptu and Forum Polonia network has initiated an outreach campaign to service those marginalised, vulnerable and with limited access to quality information. It includes information and consultation sessions to groups.

For more information contact Emilia email hidden; JavaScript is required

The Government is planning €3 billion adjustments (mostly spending cuts) in Budget 2011. Cutting vital public services, taxing low paid workers, cutting social welfare and capital investment are being presented as the only options to reduce the budget deficit. The Community Platform rejects this notion and presents real alternatives in the form of tax reform that will both address the budget deficit and stimulate economic recovery.

Not only is the current tax system failing to generate sufficient revenue to most well off or take action to begin to develop a just, equitable and sustainable tax system.

The Community Platform is calling on Minister Lenihan to:

1.         Reduce tax breaks for the wealthy to EU levels

2.         Introduce a Property Wealth Tax for high earners with assets worth more than €1million

3.         End Tax Exile loopholes by making citizenship the basis for taxation for high earners

4.         Apply PRSI and income levies to all income, regardless of source

Tax campaign document – final

Ethnic Minority Health Forum took place on Tuesday 7th September 2010.

Maeve Cusack, Screening Promotion Manager at the National Cancer Screening Service in HSE presented an overview of cervical cancer and breast cancer screening programmes and the work of the Screening Programmes team around the country. Free smear tests are available for women age 25-60, for more information visit www.CervicalCheck.ie. For information about Human papilloma viruses vaccine visit www.hpv.ie. For info about breast cancer check visit www.breastcheck.ie.

Emmanuel Njume Sone of Cairde talked about sickle cell disease and how communities in Ireland are affected.

For more info contact Junyu at email hidden; JavaScript is required

About 30 people attended an information session for pregnant women and parents of pre-school children. It was held on the August,31^st in the Polish Social & Legal Advice Centre. The session covered subjects of health care, childcare, social welfare and employment rights of pregnant women and parents.

For more information contact Emilia email hidden; JavaScript is required