Developing Social Inclusion Programmes

Urban area youth development aims to support sustainable youth structures for disadvantaged areas of Sligo town. In consultation with local community groups and agencies, Sligo Leader are able to implement programmes that support:

• Youth clubs and youth activities (for example creative programme development such as music/music technology)
• Youth leadership development
• Address the specific needs of groups of young people (for example the LGBT community, young people with disabilities, young people not engaging in mainstream youth activities)

Community Education aims to address the issue of participation in formal and informal education by the most disadvantaged communities, groups and individuals in Sligo.

We aim to increase awareness of educational, recreational and cultural opportunities for children, young people and adults in Sligo.

Sligo Leader works with various groups (such as mens’ groups, parents, youth and community groups) to offer advice, encouragement and support to engage in lifelong education that promotes social inclusion and genuine community development.

A varied number of programmes have been developed with groups throughout the county including:

• English conversation classes
• Homework and study supports
• Special interest programmes

This programme works to support parents and families in the most disadvantaged communities in Sligo.

Programmes have been developed to support parents of young people with dyslexia/dyscalculia; parents of young people with disabilities; and to set up community based parent programmes such as parent and toddler groups.

Sligo Leader Partnership work with community organisations (for example Family Resource Centres and Social Project organisations) to develop opportunities for young people in rural communities to access fun, educational projects and activities, which break down the barriers of rural isolation and tackle issues such as poverty.

Programmes such as the computer coding Coderdojo Programme are promoted as well as local summer and Easter camps with various themes-such as sports, science, technology and maths.

The Community Health Programme focuses on disability, mental health and overall Community Health.

We work with a number of  groups throughout County Sligo including:

• The Parents Support Network for young people with disabilities
• The SEED Project
• Support group for Parents and Guardians of Cregg House,

Under the programme we can offer support for mainstream youth activities for young people on the autism spectrum and the engagement of young people with disabilities in mainstream youth clubs.

The multi agency Youth Mental Health Initiative is part of this development work.

Under the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Sligo Leader provides support to new communities in a variety of ways.

The support and advice we can offer to new communities includes:

• How to find an english conversational group to improve your english
• A home-visiting programme that helps members of the Syrian community by calling to their homes to assist women with their English.
• How to access a befriending programme for Syrian families
• Actively liaising on your behalf with state agencies and departments in order to ensure they receive any benefits or opportunities to which they may be entitled,
• One-to-one advice clarifying or explaining how Irish society operates, both culturally and legally
• Advice on education systems (adult and youth), housing, health-care, employment, rights, supports, citizenship applications, and so forth.

The volunteers we work with are very welcoming and have been providing their time and energy to this project for many years thus are very familiar with the kinds of issues and difficulties that many newcomers experience when they arrive in Ireland. Sligo LEADER Partnership can also help participants progress to further educational or training courses such as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) run by Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB).

Sligo LEADER Partnership also sits on the committee of the local voluntary support group for refugees and asylum-seekers, Diversity Sligo, which has been providing an essential full-time service to their clients for almost a decade (2011-2020).