Latest News

EVE Limited Cherryfield launch their own website

EVE Limited Cherryfield have developed and launched their own interactive website. To access this site please use the following web link - http://www.eve.ie/cherryfield

The EVE Cherryfield site has been developed as a place where you can come to get news and all the latest information, get in contact with us and answer any questions you might have about our service. You can also interact with other participants using our Chat forum.

EVE Limited Cherryfield Art Exhibition May - June 2010

 

We are delighted to announce the launch of the EVE Limited Cherryfield Art Exhibition on Thursday, 3rd June in Tallaght Library (by invitation only). The exhibition itself is open to all and will showcase the work of Cherryfield service users.  Pieces will be available for sale.  The exhibition will run from 29th May to 26th June 2010. The Interval cafe nearby are offering a special €9.95 Panini, Soup and Coffee offer (or 10% off any other order) for any exhibition visitors. Contact Jimmy or Bev on (01) 462 6532

 

EVE Limited Estuary Centre launch two new DVD's

EVE Limited Estuary Centre have developed two DVD's. One is an informational DVD informing you what EVE Limited Estuary can do for you, what it offers etc.

The second DVD is a short DVD of their drama activities. To access these DVD's click here. 

We hope you enjoy them. 

 

The Health Research Board has published Reconnecting with life: personal experiences of recovering from mental health problems in Ireland. 

Mental Health Recovery in Ireland: patient perspective

According to Minister Moloney:

'This report is positive for a variety of reasons. It shows that mental health recovery is possible, which is a message of hope. It also helps us understand from the service users perspective what works for them and how services can support them best through the recovery process. It is an excellent example of how research can inform practice in a meaningful way and I hope that the findings will encourage creative innovation in mental health practice that leads to improvements in care as well as boost the morale and job satisfaction of service providers.'

The research seeks to address the fact that there is no established theory of recovery to guide clinical practice in Ireland that is relevant for both service users and providers.  It is hoped that the findings, which reveal personal experience of the processes, tasks and strategies of reconnecting with life, as well as the facilitators and barriers to doing so, will help provide strong direction for clinical practice and individual recovery. 

 

The personal experiences reported in the study show some elements of person-centred, recovery-oriented care already exist in Irish health care. Other experiences indicate that there is still a need for a major shift in practice.

 

'Understanding what helps people recover and establishing what hinders recovery is essential,' explains Dr Yulia Kartalova O Doherty, lead author of the report at the HRB. 'Our findings reveal that people's main concern is reconnecting with life and they do that through self-acceptance, meaningful interaction with others, coming to terms with the past and planning and executing their future.'

The study identifies underlying processes and individual strategies people use to reconnect with life. These included developing understanding and empathy, futurising and moving on, and learning how to turn bad days into good days.

 

'The identified processes, tasks, strategies, facilitators and barriers of reconnecting with life could be easily incorporated into recovery-oriented practice, and used as checklists for designing and monitoring the individual’s recovery progress,' says Dr Kartalova O Doherty.

'We have defined new ways of describing recovery in terms that can be understood both by people in recovery and the specialists who provide care. A common understanding that reconnecting with life is people's main concern, and that a patient-centred approach is helpful, means we are now in a much better place to reassess practice to reflect the needs of service users,' she concludes.

You can download the full report, Reconnecting with life: personal experiences of recovering from mental health problems in Ireland, at the link below.

 

Shortlist for O2 Ability Awards Reveled

Disability organisation, Kanchi and Telefónica O2 Ireland today announced that 38 organisations have been selected as Ability Companies and shortlisted for an O2 Ability Award. This year over 100 organisations participated in the Awards programme, which recognises organisations that value the abilities of employees with disabilities and recognise the economic potential of making their products and services available to all customers.

Among the 38 organisations shortlisted are 18 organisations that are first-time participants in the O2 Ability Awards programme. These include The Courts Service, Croke Park, Dublin Tourism, EMC, Homebase, Imaginosity, Medtronic, Trinity College Dublin and Waterways Ireland. Each participating organisation has undergone an on-site assessment undertaken by disability management consultants and Kanchi’s assessment partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The organisations shortlisted for this year’s O2 Ability Awards together employ 49,750 people in organisations spanning eight different sectors across 14 counties, with 22 of the organisations based in Dublin City or County.

Sectors represented this year include financial services and banking (AIB Group and Citi); pharmaceutical and medical (Abbott Vascular and Medtronic); ICT (Microsoft, EMC and Eircom); hotel/catering and restaurants (Four Seasons Hotel and McDonald’s); education and training (Dublin City Public Libraries & Archives and The Homework Club) and the social/voluntary sector (The Melting Pot, Roscommon). The sport and leisure sector is best represented this year with six participants including Croke Park, DCU Sport, Laois Sports Partnership, Leisure World Cork, the National Aquatic Centre and Westport Leisure Park.

Fifteen organisations from the public sector also make this year’s shortlist including The Central Fisheries Board, Iarnród Éireann, Cork County Council, Carlow Local Authorities, Fingal County Council, Cavan County Council and the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

Announcing the Ability Companies, Caroline Casey, founder of Kanchi and the O2 Ability Awards, said: “The diversity of the Ability Companies shortlisted for an O2 Ability Award demonstrates how organisations in all areas of business recognise the value of people with disabilities to their business, as customers and as employees. It’s an exciting time – these organisations are creating a momentum for change and seizing a competitive advantage in a challenging economic environment”.

All 38 Ability Companies will be considered for one or more of the nine O2 Ability Awards. The O2 Ability Awards ceremony will be held on the 12^th of May 2010 in Dublin, where the winners will be announced. A two-part documentary on the O2 Ability Awards 2010 will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 on the 6^th and 13^th of May.

For a full list of the Ability Companies shortlisted for an O2 Ability Awards, go to www.theabilityawards.com

The O2 Ability Awards programme is supported by Telefónica O2 Ireland, FÁS, The Irish Times, Newstalk 106-108fm, RTÉ and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Photo Caption:  At the announcement that 38 organisations have been accredited as Ability Companies and shortlisted for an O2 Ability Award are (LtoR) Majella Fitzpatrick, Head of Corporate Affairs, Telefónica O2 Ireland and Caroline Casey, founder of disability organisation, Kanchi and creator of the Ability Awards. The O2 Ability Awards recognise organisations for best practice in the inclusion of people with disabilities as employees and as customers.

 

Minister Moloney can give a 'bit extra' 

Amnesty International launch 'The Missing Link' report: a coordinated Government action on Mental Health   

Amnesty’s report THE MISSING LINK was recently launched to great fanfare.  In particular interest to EVE, Transitional Employment is featured as an example of good practice with a testimonial from Clive in Platinum included (on page 56).  You can see the report on their website at www.amnesty.ie under news 26.02.10 and the report can be ordered directly. Congratulations to all in Clubhouse.

Mental health is not just an issue for the Department of Health and Children - other relevant departments need to take action. Human rights like employment, education and housing make a crucial difference to recovery. This report sets out why coordinated, interdepartmental action is necessary in order to implement the recommendations in A Vision for Change, the national mental health policy.
The report will be launched by Mr John Moloney, T.D., Minister of State with Responsibility for Equality, Disability and Mental Health.

 

Autism Partners launch Website

Thursday the 11^th February 2010 saw the launch of a new one stop shop website for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. This new website began as part of an initiative by the “Autism Partners for Innovation” and was funded under the Enhancing Disability Services Programme by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and managed by Pobal. The formal partners in the project are Irish Autism Action, EVE Ltd Tuiscint, Cork Association for Autism, Gheel Autism Services, Aspire and ABAILE/ Drogheda ABACAS School.

 

Interested Parties can log on to www.autismsupport.ie or www.aspergersupport.ie to view the new website.

 

Participants of EVE Limited services are holding an Art Exhibition of their work in the Cabra Area.

EVE Limited Estuary Centre set up an art exhibition committee. We choose the name ‘The Magpies’ for our committee because the magpie bird is known to collect shiny/beautiful objects and arrange them in their nests. We thought that this linked in with our committee because we will be taking the beautiful and interesting objects that you create and will arrange them in the gallery space. We also wanted a bird to represent our committee because birds, to us, represent freedom to fly and sing.

And now for our first event: Offical Opening commencing Tuesday June 9th at 12pm.

Cabra Dublin City Council Library has offered us the use of its gallery space for the month of June. The space is a good size with lots of light. The building itself is modern and up to date. We as a centre have shown work in this facility annually over the last two years, and have found the library and its facilitators to be wonderful and very obliging to work with.

We as a committee have decided upon the theme of ‘Trash Art’. We felt that this would be a very relevant and interesting theme because of the growing need for people to start recycling and caring for our environment. We also felt that this theme would lead to an inspiring and inventive use of everyday throw away objects.

 

IMHREC (Irish Mental Health and Recovery Education Consortium) have commenced rolling out thier facilitated learning programme on Mental Health Recovery and WRAP in three regional hubs throughout the country.

The purpose of the IMHREC consortium is to develop, deliver and evaluate a mental health recovery education programme, using the Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) approach. The learning programme is designed to enable its participants to consider and adopt the WRAP recovery principles into their own lives and/or practice in order to achieve their own goals within a philosophy of recovery. The programme will commence with 1 day conferences and will be followed with the facilitated learning programmes on later dates across the three regional hubs.

There are limited places available for the 2-day recovery education workshops where participants will have an opportunity to begin developing their own WRAP.

Workshop Dates & Venues

Where Month Dates Centres Hotel
Dublin	April	20th / 21st	Dublin North	Mercer Hotel, Dublin 2
		22nd/23rd	Dublin North County	Mercer Hotel, Dublin 2
		28th/ 29th	Kildare	Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare
Cork	May	11th/12th	Charleville, Co. Cork	Charleville Park Hotel, Charleville, Co. Cork
		13th/14th	Ennis, Co. Clare	Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare
		19th /20th	Cork City	The Ambassador Hotel, Cork City
Sligo	June	2nd/3rd	Letterkenny	Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
		8th/9th	Sligo	Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo, Co. Sligo
		10th/11th	Carrick-On-Shannon	Landmark Hotel, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co. Leitrim

The IMHREC (www.imhrec.ie) consortium consists of the following agencies:

• Ballyhoura Development Ltd. (Limerick) - www.ballyhouracountry.com
• EVE Limited (Dublin) - www.eve.ie
• Mayo Mental Health Association - 17 Thomas Street, Castlebar (094) 902 1333
  
• Slí Eile (Cork) - www.slieilehousing.com
• STEER Ireland (Donegal) - www.steerireland.com

 

EVE Limited held a Planning day for all stakeholders which was very well attended

On the 26th February EVE hosted our annual planning day entitled “EVE Creating Contexts for Recovery” in EVE Limited Cherryfield. The programme for the day included the launch of the EVE Recovery Stories Booklet and the EVE Net.  In addition, we convened five workshops, four of which explored the Strategic Objectives as set out in the EVE Strategic Plan and the fifth workshop looked at how we can conduct “community audits”.

The day was a great success with over 100 attendees, participants and staff. Focussing on the operational implementation of the strategic objectives created a platform for everyone to engage. Feedback given on the day suggested we might focus on more events of a practical nature to ensure that we have the opportunity to discuss the immediate implementation issues that arise when one genuinely tries to live a recovery agenda within a service.

 

EVE Limited have published their Annual Report for 2007

2007 marked the final stage in a three year project which we embarked upon when we launched our EVE Strategic
Plan in 2004. For the organisation, this has been a very rewarding and productive three years in which the staff and participants worked consistently to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves. When we drafted our plan we challenged ourselves and posed the question “EVE 2007…Where will we be then?” and suggested our views on the progress that might be achieved (p.13). On reflection, I believe we have met and exceeded in some areas, the expectations we had of ourselves.

EVE is a service committed to working in partnership with people with disabilities. The public are now more aware of the dynamic nature of our services and recognise the integrity of our adopted partnership approach. Participants are now more involved in EVE as a community through the centre news magazines, the shared social events, the EVE website and the EVE Football league. Our staff have told us, informed through our EIQA Employee Engagement Survey, that they do feel valued as professional staff clear in their role as an enabler and advocate for the participants in our services.

Staff are enthusiastic about their positions, taking pride in their work and report feeling empowered to do their job!
When the EVE community engaged in the consultation to develop the Strategic Plan 2004-2007, we shared our hopes and dreams of what EVE could achieve in the future. Our core values were agreed to be “Partnership” and “Quality Services for Improved Quality of Life”. In our experience, the power of partnership lies in recognising just what can be achieved when you are willing to engage meaningfully and harness the energy that comes from the process of agreeing a shared vision. In EVE, I believe we have listened, we have learned, we have valued each others views and we have renewed our commitment to moving forward as partners in our next Strategic Plan. This mutual respect is the legacy of our Strategic Plan and I have no doubt that these are truly characteristics of a Quality Service that can improve for all their Quality of Life! Download the plan from here.

EVE Limited are carrying out a recovery research project entitled: ‘Understanding Recovery in Context’ which seeks to provide mental health service users, family members/carers and mental health service providers with a practical, empowering and user-friendly profiling tool, called the Recovery Context Inventory (RCI).

Capturing Hope in our Mental Health Services-The Recovery Context Inventory (RCI).

EVE Limited, in our new Strategic Plan “EVE-Creating Contexts for Recovery” 2008-2013, have committed ourselves to establishing a culture of wellness which we plan to achieve through the delivery of hope-inspiring, recovery-oriented practices, services and environments. We believe that recovery principles offer great opportunities for more effective ways of working in our mental health services.

As part of this commitment, we identified the need to invest in the development of appropriate tools to capture the personal outcomes being achieved by individual participants in our services. Our recovery research project entitled: ‘Understanding Recovery in Context’ led by Tom O’ Brien, Principal Psychologist, seeks to provide mental health service users, family members/carers and mental health service providers with a practical, empowering and user-friendly profiling tool, called the Recovery Context Inventory (RCI). This tool will facilitate a person in recovery/expert by experience to consider his/her life circumstances and comprehensively assess interpersonal, service and wider community recovery contextual factors that impact positively or negatively upon his/her individual recovery process. The resulting personal profile will enable the person to make decisions and take positive action to promote their wellbeing. Plans to develop supplementary family members/ carers and mental health professional versions of the tool are also in hand.

For EVE, the RCI will give us the opportunity to engage with the individual in a responsive, person-centred manner and acknowledge the contexts that help or potentially hinder recovery and work with the person in partnership, to set personally meaningful, recovery-promoting goals. We are also exploring ways in which the RCI can be adapted to provide a set of recovery-oriented benchmarks for use in mental health services.

The study is being conducted by EVE and supported by the Health Service Executive, the Irish Advocacy Network, the School of Psychology, University College Dublin, the National Disability Authority and Community Foundation Ireland. To date, a consensus has been reached among a nominated panel of Irish and United Kingdom expert stakeholders on a comprehensive list of recovery that form the basis of the RCI and we are currently engaged in refining the tool format.

We believe that the RCI can make an important contribution to the individual recovery process and in addition, offer service providers the potential to look at their services and design-in those factors, which promote hope and recovery. Based on the exceptional support and enthusiasm EVE has received for this project, it is clear that we are not alone in working toward this goal.

Further information is available by e-mail from: Tom O’ Brien, EVE Limited, tobrien@eve.ie

Salary Survey reveals a high demand for skilled professionals in community and voluntary organisations

The first survey of pay and benefits in Ireland’s community, voluntary and charitable organisations reveals a picture of a growing third sector with a high demand for professional skills.

317 organisations participated in the survey commissioned by The Wheel and sponsored by management consulting and recruiting firm 2into3 and mycharity.ie

The majority of the workers surveyed were female (82%), as was eight out of ten (85%) part-time workers. Half of the employees covered worked in the Health sector and a third of (30%) in the survey are involved in Development (including overseas development) and Housing activities.

Almost a quarter (23%) of the organisations in the survey indicted that they have experienced recruitment difficulties over the past 12 months. The main reasons stated by organisations as to why they were experiencing difficulties recruiting staff are that they could not find the right people, or could not find the right skills.

"The sector has grown extensively in recent years. One consequence of this growth has been an increase in demand for specific professional skills and competencies. The research also suggests that there is strong competition to recruit and retain staff not just within the non-profit sector but also with the commercial sector. This survey provides quality information that will greatly assist individual organisations in their planning and budgeting. Repeating this survey regularly will enable us to track trends and see how the sector is developing with respect to other sectors of the economy,” said Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel.

Members of The Wheel are entitled to one free copy of survey on request.

Minister Moloney confirms disability developments to go ahead

The Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, Disabilty & Mental Health, John Moloney T.D., has confirmed that new developments for disability services are to proceed as planned this year.

The Minister said that he had been assured by the HSE that, while the commencement of some services had been delayed this year due to a financial review, the HSE was now in a position to roll-out the planned disability developments as outlined in its 2008 Service Plan.

“Developments will include new day places for young people leaving school and additional therapy supports for pre-school children and for children with autism,” the Minister said.

An additional €50m was provided to the HSE in the 2008 Budget to fund a range of additional services under the Multi-Annual Investment Programme for Disability. Planned services include additional residential, day care and respite care places for people with intellectual disability and autism; additional residential care and home support services for people with physical and sensory disabilities; and additional multi-disciplinary therapy posts to provide assessment and ongoing intervention services to children with a disability

Minister Moloney welcomes Second Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Group on "A Vision for Change"

Mr John Moloney, T.D, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for disability and mental health welcomed the Second Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Group on "A Vision for Change" - the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy. The Independent Monitoring Group was established in March 2006 to monitor and assess progress on the implementation of "A Vision for Change".

The Minister said“A Vision for Change has been accepted by Government as the basis for the future development of our mental health services. I recognise that much work needs to be done and I look forward to seeing increased progress this year and in subsequent years. I welcome the HSE Implementation Plan for 2008 and 2009 and expect a more comprehensive Implementation Plan for beyond 2009 before the end of this year”. 

The Minister welcomed the findings and recommendations in the Monitoring Group Report and said“The establishment of the Office for Disability and Mental Health in January 2008 will bring a new impetus to the implementation of A Vision for Change. The Office will work in partnership with the HSE and other stakeholders to achieve implementation of agreed targets”. 

The Minister thanked the members of the Independent Monitoring Group for their commitment.

The Report is available at http://www.dohc.ie/publications/vision_for_change_2nd_report.html

 

EVE Limited Airdnua to host a Summer Festival

EVE Limited Airdnua will host a Summer Festival on Wednesday 11th June form 11am and all are welcome. Click here to see Summer Festival details.

 

 

Certificates for Graduates of Innovative Mental Health and Recovery Programme were presented on May 7th 2008

Participants of an innovative new pilot programme in Mental Health and Recovery were in DCU today to receive certificates marking their achievements. 

 Funded by the HSE Skill Project and developed by the MQI consortium comprising National Learning Network, EVE Ltd., and the Irish Advocacy Network, the programme in Mental Health and Recovery was specifically designed to provide frontline staff employed in the mental health sector and in mainstream health services, with the confidence and skills needed to work with people with mental health problems in a more effective manner.  

The programme is unique in that it also equipped people who had personal experience of mental health difficulties with the skills and knowledge needed to take up positions within the health services. 

 “An innovative and major aspect of the programme in Mental Health and Recovery was that it provided a shared learning environment for front line workers and people who had personal experience of mental health difficulties,” said John Redican, CEO Irish Advocacy Network.

Sixteen participants on the five-month course completed FETAC (Level 5) modules in Mental Health Difficulties and Treatment Approaches, Advocacy and Independence in Mental Health, and Introduction to Recovery in Mental Health. In addition, participants also attended a 2-day learning support module and received ongoing mentoring for the duration of the programme. 

According to Dr. Margaret Webb, General Manager, EVE Ltd., feedback from participants on the programme has been extremely positive. “Participants felt that the course not only strengthened their knowledge, awareness and understanding of mental health, but also increased their confidence in general.” 

Reflecting on the success of the project, Dawn Duffin of National Learning Network said: “The Mental Health and Recovery programme clearly highlights the value and potential of the shared learning approach among the different participating organisations both in the design and delivery of future courses.”   

Students who completed the programme will receive their certificates today from Fran Silvestre, Director International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership, New Zealand, and Ann Judge, Assistant General Manager, HSE SKILL Project. 

For further information:

 Dawn Duffin, Manager, National Learning Network Learning and Assessment Services Tel: (01) 2000150 / (087) 662329 

Dr Margaret Webb, General Manager, EVE Limited Tel: (01) 6719664

A EVE Limited launch their Strategic Plan 2008 - 2013.

EVE Limited launched their Strategic Plan 2008 - 2013 on Thursday 28th February at 11.30am in EVE Limited Castleview. Representation from staff and service users along with external stakeholders was made on what was an enjoyable experience.

This is the second Strategic Plan for Eastern Vocational Enterprises Limited (EVE) and represents an exciting stage in the development of our organisation. In 2004 we set out an ambitious programme which focused on developing a culture of partnership within EVE where each person, staff and participant felt respected and valued in our network of services. At all times we were aiming to deliver “a Quality Service” and based on our Working Group’s internal evaluation of progress to date, we can state that this goal was achieved.

Our success was possible because we agreed our agenda together in 2004 and set out exactly what needed to be done. This laid a solid foundation for EVE from which we established vital partnerships and relationships for our organisation into the future. In building on our achievements, we have developed our new plan for 2008-2013 based on an independently facilitated consultation and dialogue with people who use EVE’s services and its staff.

The community of EVE has unanimously agreed that we should focus on creating a culture of wellness in which the needs of both people who use our services and staff can be met. The bedrock of our practice will be based on recovery principles as we believe they enshrine the fundamental values and beliefs which EVE espouses. We are committed to treating each person as an individual, honouring their choices, believing them, valuing them and affording them every opportunity to live a life of active citizenship within their community. These generic principles apply to each and every one of us and reflect human values that are timeless. The pursuit of improved quality of life is our ultimate goal.

A dedicated website has been established to support the work of the National Review of HSE Funded Adult Day Services.

The website address is www.dayservicereview.ie. Details contained on the website include the background and terms of reference for the review, membership of the National Working Group, work plan for the review and details of the census data process which is currently underway. The website also contains a copy of the first Newsletter.

Local authorities are undertaking an assessment of the extent of the need for social housing on 31 March 2008.

To be included people in need of housing have to complete an application which is available on the authority's website or at its housing office. This requires the applicant to gather medical, income and other documentation although a report from an OT should not be necessary. An adult person on low income who needs appropriate housing should apply even though s/he is living with parents at present or would require significant supports to live independently.

 

It is important that voluntary organisations work with those among their members who are living in inadequate housing to consider and apply for social housing before the 31 March assessment deadline. Getting on the waiting list is essential if the local authority and the HSE are to take people's needs into account when making their plans for service provision.

DFI also seek information about the experience of applying for social housing, whether that experience was good or bad. Please do not hesitate to contact Louise Mc Cann (01 4250126 / louisemccann@disability-federation.ie) with any questions or feedback.

EVE Limited Cuan Rogha and EVE Limited Estuary Centre would like to announce their up and coming art exhibition, which will be taking place in Cabra Dublin City Council Library from the 4th to the 28th of February 2008.

Art works within this exhibition will be created and presented by participants working in two different centres within Eastern Vocational Enterprises Limited. The two centres that have decided to join forces for this show are EVE Limited Estuary, situated in Swords Co. Dublin and EVE Limited Cuan Rogha in Chapelizod, Dublin 22. The title for the show is 'Strange Lands'.

Recently both centres have been looking at cultural difference and comparisons between the traditional and futuristic elements in our world. The title takes into account the broad scope of ideas that the participants relate to. Some look on it as a landscape from a distant land, others choose to create their own imaginary spaces where fantasy and legends come to life. Spirituality also plays a part where sermons and beliefs of other cultures as well as our own are represented.

The exhibition will contain elements from a large range of media. Light sculptures of bright colours and geometric shapes as well as a modern take on traditional forms will be presented as well as paintings, drawings and sculptures. Digital photography as well as photo-shop projects will also be presented. Cabra library has presented us with a wonderful space to work with and we plan on transforming it into our own 'Strange Land', setting up the work as a group installation, a world in which you can explore. The location of the space as well as the theme of the work has played a large part in our decisions for what to display. The library is a hive of activity during the school term therefore we will be taking into account our main audience.

Our aim is to create opportunities for self-expression, education, training and confidence building. We work with people of all ages with mild to profound learning and mental health disabilities, and aim to encourage their integration into the community by running projects in arts venues. Bringing the works of these artists into the public domain demonstrates our commitment to breaking down barriers between 'mainstream' and what has traditionally been considered 'disability art'.

There will be an opening ceremony on the 4th of February at one o’ clock and we would love for you to join us and get a chance to meet with some of our amazing artists.

EVE Limited Tuiscint announced as 'Lundbeck Centre of Excellence'.

 

EVE Ltd Tuiscint won the major prize at Lundbeck Art Awards 2007. The prize of €5,000 is for the centre of excellence which, in the opinion of the judges, provides the best environment, materials and art space for its artists. There was an Award Luncheon on Tuesday 18th December in Brooks Hotel, Drury St. Tuiscint was represented by staff and participants. The awards ceremony was followed by a photo shoot and lunch.

A women in Sport website has been developed as part of the Irish Sports Council's Women in Sport initiative

Thsi website is aimed at providing information of what activities are available in all areas, what is happening in sport and promoting, encouraging and supporting women's participation in sport. It is sponsored by the Irish Sports Council.

The Irish Sports Council's mission, in partnership with our promoting Department is: 'To plan, lead and co-ordinate the sustainable development of sport in Ireland'.

The pillars of the Council's long term strategy are:

• Participation Strategy - To break down barriers and to increase participation in sport, not only the number of people but their continued participation throughout their lives
• Performance Strategy - To create an environment so that individuals can develop their sporting abilities
• Excellence Strategy - To help our leading sportsmen and women achieve world-class performance by fair and ethical means

For further information on the Irish Sports Council visit www.irishsportscouncil.ie

The Mental Health Employment and Training Consultative Forum have recently printed their "Framework for the Training and Employment of People with Mental Health Difficulties" Report

The Mental Health Employment and Training Consultative group undertook a review of existing provision in the area of rehabilitative training and vocational training and look at the concerns being expressed by people with mental health difficulties in terms of access issues and progression both from and between the services.

Arising from this review, it was agreed that a generic framework for the training and employment of people who experience mental health difficulties would be proposed. This focus was to include consideration of the strengths of existing service models in order that a framework of provision can be developed based on the positive experiences of both service providers and participants to date. In this context, it was agreed to look at existing structures that may need to be modified and possible future structures which need to be developed to provide a comprehensive compendium of options for people who experience mental health difficulties; while simultaneously ensuring appropriate supports and facilitating progression.

This document is available to download from the website by clicking on the following link: FRAMEWORK REPORT

 

Government launches Green Paper on Pensions

The Green Paper covers the background to the Irish pension system and a broad range of issues related to social welfare, occupational, personal, and public service arrangements.  The demographic and sustainability challenges facing Ireland in the decades ahead are outlined and a number of scenarios and options are discussed.  These include measures to address the sustainability challenge, maintaining the status quo, universal provision, increasing social welfare pensions, SSIA-type tax incentives and soft mandatory and mandatory approaches.   Other elements covered include annuities, the role of regulation and issues related to work flexibility in older age.

Speaking at the launch of the document the Taoiseach said: “ Now that we are living fuller, longer and more productive lives, we need to shift our thinking.  Let us look at how we can create advantage from demographic trends to enhance the quality of life of individuals. The pensions issue is a challenge which will be facing us for decades to come and will require a fair and flexible approach.”

In addition to the Green Paper, the Government also launched the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund 2005 and the Review of the Irish Annuities Market.  Both of these documents provided important information and context that informed the development of the Green Paper.

The Green Paper on Pensions and the other two reports launched today are available on a new website www.pensionsgreenpaper.ie and on the Department of Social and Family Affairs website www.welfare.ie 

Do you care about how mental health and suicide is reported in the Irish Media?

Headline is Ireland's new national media monitoring programme, working to promote responsible and accurate coverage of mental health and suicide related issues within Irish Media.

Headline has been established by Schizophrenia Ireland and the HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention as part of the Reach Out Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Headline represents the mental health and suicide related media monitoring interests of Aware, Bodywhys, Grow, Irish Advocacy Network, Mental Health Ireland, Schizphrenia Ireland, HSE's Office for Suicide Prevention and Samaritans.

Headline aims to encourage responsible, safe and helpful reporting of suicide and mental health in the media. Headline also works to prevent the use of discriminatory language and inaccurate facts about Mental Health, while also encouraging those in the media to depict mental illness accurately.

What does this mean for you?

Headline is launching its website www.Headline.ie on the 19th April. The website will enable you to become involved in helping monitor the Irish media, including national and regional print and broadcast media.

What can you do?

1. Sign up for media alerts. When Headline come across either a positive or negative media piece, it will let you know about it by email and you can decide how to respond - you can either email or write a letter to the news source.

2. If you come across a media item, which you feel portrays mental health issues in a  particularly positive or negative manner, please let Headline know. You can email info@headline.ie or phone them at (01) 827 9022.

2001 Mental Health Act up for review

The Mental Health Act 2001 came into place primarily to bring Irish mental health law into line with the European convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Act addresses two main requirements in the provision of mental health care in a modern society. Firstly, the establishment of a legislative framework within which persons with a mental health disorder may be admitted, detained and treated involuntarily in Approved Centres. Secondly, the promotion and maintenance of quality standards of care and treatment that are regularly inspected and properly regulated.

Part 6 of the Act allows for a review of the Act five years after its implementation. This means that during 2007, the Act will be reviewed by the Minister with a view to identifying the need for changes or improvements in the Act. Additionally part two of the Act, which came into affect in November 2006 wil be reviewed in the middle of 2008.

EVE Limited will be making a submission to the Mental Health Commission on its views in regard to the Act. We now invite any individual who has an opinion or concerns about any part of the 2001 Act to write directly to EVE Limited, c/o The General Manager, and we will ensure that that your concerns and comments are taken into account in our submission to the Mental Health Commission. The 2001 Act can be located by logging on to the following webpage: http://www.mhcirl.ie  

Improving the Delivery of Quality Public Services in Ireland a new report from NESF

A major report published today by the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) recommends radical reforms in the way public services are delivered.

Dr Maureen Gaffney, chairperson of the NESF, said that there were still significant shortcomings in the delivery of public services although there have been many positive improvements over the last ten years:
"We need to move from our present system which tries to fit complex individual needs into a 'one-size-fits–all' approach, towards a more customer/user approach where services are 'wrapped around' people's needs and circumstances"

The report is designed to assist in the implementation of public services reforms as outlined in the current social partnership agreement Towards 2016 and in the NESC's report on the Developmental Welfare State.

According to Dr Gaffney, about euro 39 billion a year is spent on public services and the report, Improving the Delivery of Quality Public Services, says there is often a wide gap between what services providers believe they are providing and the services that users need to receive:

"This is an important report with many practical proposals to improve the delivery of our public services. The focus is on putting the citizen at the centre of public services reform. The report recommends a new approach to ensure that the needs of all in society are better met, through continuous improvements in service design, innovation in service delivery and better outcomes. There have been many improvements in public services over the last decade. This report builds and enriches this process."


The report highlights new challenges to developing more responsive services due to high economic growth, major demographic changes, inward migration, greater cultural diversity (non-nationals now make up 10% of the population) and rising expectations from the public for higher quality standards and value for money.

The report recommends a range of key practical measures including:

EVE Limited Receives it's Quality Assurance Agreement from FETAC

EVE Limited received it's Quality Assurance agreement from FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council) on February 2nd at an awards ceremony in Clontarf Castle. This awards ceremony was attended by the General Manager, Regional Manager, Quality Assurance Department personnel and a number of EVE Limited Centre Managers. This agreement enables 16 EVE Limited locations deliver FETAC Level 1 to Level 5 modules to it's participants. The celebrated providers built on the core theme of quality assurance in all courses accredited by FETAC.

Presenting the specially commissioned parchments, Sean Haughy TD praised FETAC and also all the stakeholders and providers involved in these quality presentations, “The Government has been following developments on qualifications, accreditation and awards with interest.  Here the work of FETAC and HETAC is in many ways of a pioneering nature. We are ahead of others in the European Union and, accordingly, will be able to accommodate more easily to moves towards greater comparability of qualifications that the European Commission is now advancing.” he said.

Stan McHugh, Chief Executive of FETAC said, “Today we celebrate quality; we celebrate quality in providers: we celebrate quality in systems and most of all we celebrate quality in the relationships between providers, awarding authorities and ultimately the most important person in the equation, the learner”.

 

The Mental Health Commission launch the 'Quality Framework' document for Mental Health Services in Ireland.

The Mental Health Commission has published the Quality Framework for Mental Health Services in Ireland and the document was launched on the 6th March 2007.

The themes, standards and criteria contained in the quality framework provide clear guidance for service users, their families/chosen advocates, service providers and the public as to what to expect from a mental health service. The quality framework is applicable to all mental health services including services for children and adolescents, adults, older persons, persons with an intellectual disability and a mental illness and forensic mental health services. It applies equally to all mental health services irrespective of whether they are being delivered within the service user’s home, community settings both residential and non-residential, or within in-patient facilities. The quality framework is flexible to allow for the diverse needs of service users as well as the different nature and scale of organisations involved in service delivery.

The quality framework comprises of eight themes, 24 standards and 163 criteria. The framework places the service user at the centre. The eight themes are:

1. Provision of a holistic seamless service and the full continuum of care provided by a multidisciplinary team
2. Respectful, empathetic relationships are required between people using the mental health service and those providing them
3. An empowering approach to service delivery is beneficial to both people using the service and those providing it
4. A quality physical environment that promotes good health and upholds the security and
safety of service users
5. Access to services
6. Family/chosen advocate involvement and support
7. Staff skills, expertise and morale are key influencers in the delivery of a quality mental health service
8. Systematic evaluation and review of mental health services underpinned by best practice, will enable providers to deliver quality services

The document is available on the MHC website: http://www.mhcirl.ie

 

Mental Health Commission Website launch 

Please access and use this new initiative set up by the Mental Health Commission. This Website is designed to support you in updating your knowledge of the Mental Health Act, 2001. We recommend that you navigate this site while referring to The 2001 Act. http://mhc.thelearningcentre.ie/

Ombudsman Link Service

If you have a complaint about a Government Department, Local Authority, the Health Service Executive or An Post which you have been unable to resolve with the organisation itself, you can ask the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint for you. The Ombudsman now operates a new service, called Ombudsman Link Service, in association with the following Citizens Information Centres:

Cork Citizens Information Centre, 80 South Mall, Cork
Blackrock Citizens Information Centre, Convent Road, Blackrock, Cork
Limerick Citizens Information Centre, 54 Catherine Street, Limerick
Newcastlewest Citizens Information Centre, Weight House, Market Yard, Newcastlewest, Co Limerick
Galway Citizens Information Centre, Augustine House, St. Augustine Street, Galway
Clifden Citizens Information Centre, c/o VEC, Statoil Apartments, 4/5 Galway Road, Clifden
Northside Citizens Information Centre, Northside Civic Cntre, Bunratty Road, Coolock, Dublin 17

You can now call to any of these Centres, during their normal opening hours, and receive an easy to complete Complaints Form on which you can record the details of your complaint. You can send the completed form directly to the Ombudsman's Office at 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 in a pre-paid envelope which will be provided, or you can leave it at the Centre and they will forward it on to us.

The staff and volunteers at these centres have received special training so that they can assist you with making a complaint. The Office of the Ombudsman continues to attend Cork, Galway, Limerick and Northside CICs on a monthly basis For more information about the Ombudsman, go to: http://ombudsman.gov.ie/en/FAQs/